[Outcomes of chemotherapy in patients with EGFR mutation-negative non-small cell lung cancer].

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of chemotherapy for patients with EGFR (exon 19 and 21) mutation-negative non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: One hundred and forty NSCLC patients with negative EGFR mutation (90 cases) or EGFR mutation (50 cases) underwent gemcitabine or vinorelbine plus cisplatin or carboplatin chemotherapy. RESULTS: In the EGFR mutation-negative patients, there were PR in 26 cases, SD in 48 cases, PD in 16 cases, the disease control rate was 82.2%. In the patients with EGFR mutation, there were PR in 14 cases, SD in 23 cases, PD in 13 cases, the disease control rate was 74.0%. The difference of disease control rates in the two groups was not significant (P = 0.250). The progression free survival (PFS) of EGFR mutation-negative patients was 4.2 months (95%CI 3.8-4.6) vs. 4.0 months (95%CI 3.6-4.4) in patients with EGFR mutation, with a significant difference (P = 0.021). The overall survival (OS) of EGFR mutation-negative patients was 9.2 months (95%CI 8.4-10.0) vs. 7.8 months (95%CI, 6.9-8.7) of patients with EGFR mutation (P = 0.028). CONCLUSIONS: Chemotherapy can prolong the PFS and OS of EGFR mutation-negative patients. However, only the extension of OS has practical significance.