Real-World Evidence of EGFR Targeted Therapy in NSCLC- A Brief Report of Decade Long Single Center Experience.

The significance of EGFR targeted therapy in the lung adenocarcinoma is paramount. Several controlled clinical trials have reported considerable survival of EGFR mutation positive patients on receiving the EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI). However, the real-world evidence of benefits of EGFR TKI would be further useful to understand how the designated therapeutic regimen benefits the patients. In this study, we report a decade long real-world evidence of EGFR molecular testing in lung cancer at Tata Memorial Hospital (Mumbai, India). Laboratory and hospital records containing basic demographic details, clinical characteristics, treatment regimen, survival outcome were collected retrospectively. Statistical association and survival analysis were performed using the R programming. The cohort includes 9,053 lung cancer patients tested for EGFR mutations during 2011 to 2019. Baseline T790M and compound mutations were the only mutations observed co-occurring while all other EGFR mutations were mutually exclusive. Furthermore, the baseline T790M were also observed to be associated with TTF1 positivity, smoking and local metastasis. Overall survival of the patients harboring co-occurring compound mutations was significantly lesser than the other EGFR positive patients. Overall, our study suggests that EGFR TKI may provide real-world benefit to the lung cancer patients harboring mutually exclusive EGFR mutations. On the other hand, further systematic study is essential to develop better therapeutic regimen for co-occurring baseline EGFR T790M and other compound mutations.

Clinical Utility of Liquid Biopsy (Cell-free DNA) Based EGFR Mutation Detection Post treatment Initiation as a Disease Monitoring Tool in Patients With Advanced EGFR-mutant NSCLC.

INTRODUCTION: Plasma cfDNA-based mutation analysis has shown disease-monitoring potential in various cancers. We assessed the potential of cfDNA-based EGFR mutation testing as a monitoring tool in patients with NSCLC. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with NSCLC harboring EGFR mutations receiving first-line treatment as per institutional protocol were enrolled. EGFR mutation status was determined using plasma samples at baseline and post treatment initiation. Patients in whom EGFR mutation was detected or persisted after treatment initiation were considered circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA)-positive. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) for ctDNA-positive and negative patients post treatment initiation were the primary endpoints; concordance for baseline EGFR status between tissue and plasma and proportion of patients who were ctDNA-positive post treatment initiation were the secondary endpoints. RESULTS: We enrolled 158 patients; 76 received gefitinib, and 82 received gefitinib plus chemotherapy. Median follow-up duration was 42 months. About 25% of patients were ctDNA-positive post treatment initiation. Median PFS for ctDNA-negative patients post treatment initiation was 14 (95% confidence interval [CI], 12.0-17.0) months, while that for ctDNA-positive patients was 8 (95% CI, 6.0-10.0) months. Median OS for ctDNA-negative patients post treatment initiation was 27 (95% CI, 24.0-32.0) months, while that for ctDNA-positive patients was 15 (95% CI, 11.0-19.0) months. Concordance at baseline between tissue and plasma samples was 75.4%. CONCLUSION: Plasma-based EGFR mutation detection post treatment initiation can be used as a predictive marker for outcome in patients with EGFR-mutant NSCLC receiving first-line treatment.

Randomized, Parallel Group, Open-Label Bioequivalence Trial of Intramuscular Pegaspargase in Patients With Relapsed Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

PURPOSE: Pegylated asparaginase is comparatively safer than native asparaginase in the management of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). However, the high price and nonavailability in low- and middle-income countries limits its use. In 2014, the first generic of pegaspargase (Hamsyl) was approved in India for use as a second-line treatment option for ALL. The aim of this study was to assess whether the generic pegaspargase (the test product) was bioequivalent with the reference product (Oncaspar). PATIENTS AND METHODS: This study was an open-label, parallel-group, comparative pharmacokinetic study in pediatric patients with relapsed ALL receiving their first dose (1,000 IU/m2) of pegaspargase administered intramuscularly. Patients were randomly assigned 1-to-1 to either the test or the reference product. The 2 formulations were considered equivalent if the 90% CIs for area under the plasma asparaginase activity-time curve (AUC0-t) geometric mean test-to-reference ratio was within 75% to 133%. RESULTS: Twenty-nine patients (6-18 years of age) were enrolled in this study, of whom 24 completed the study criteria and were considered for safety analysis (5 patients were ineligible for the assessment). Three patients were excluded from analysis, because of presence of anti-asparaginase antibodies, leaving 21 patients who were considered for bioequivalence pharmacokinetics data. The point estimate of AUC0-t for the test-to-reference ratio was 95.05 (90% CI, 75.07% to 120.33%). Maximum plasma concentration, trough concentrations (day 14), half-life, volume of distribution, drug clearance, and changes in the asparagine and glutamine levels were not significantly different between products. Adverse events were comparable in both groups. CONCLUSION: Generic and reference pegaspargase had equivalent pharmacokinetics with comparable safety. This could be a safe and cost-effective alternative for patients with ALL, especially in low- and middle-income countries.

Gefitinib Versus Gefitinib Plus Pemetrexed and Carboplatin Chemotherapy in EGFR-Mutated Lung Cancer.

PURPOSE: Standard first-line therapy for EGFR-mutant advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-directed oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor. Adding pemetrexed and carboplatin chemotherapy to an oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor may improve outcomes. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a phase III randomized trial in patients with advanced NSCLC harboring an EGFR-sensitizing mutation and a performance status of 0 to 2 who were planned to receive first-line palliative therapy. Random assignment was 1:1 to gefitinib 250 mg orally per day (Gef) or gefitinib 250 mg orally per day plus pemetrexed 500 mg/m2 and carboplatin area under curve 5 intravenously every 3 weeks for four cycles, followed by maintenance pemetrexed (gefitinib plus chemotherapy [Gef+C]). The primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS); secondary end points included overall survival (OS), response rate, and toxicity. RESULTS: Between 2016 and 2018, 350 patients were randomly assigned to Gef (n = 176) and Gef+C (n = 174). Twenty-one percent of patients had a performance status of 2, and 18% of patients had brain metastases. Median follow-up time was 17 months (range, 7 to 30 months). Radiologic response rates were 75% and 63% in the Gef+C and Gef arms, respectively (P = .01). Estimated median PFS was significantly longer with Gef+C than Gef (16 months [95% CI, 13.5 to 18.5 months] v 8 months [95% CI, 7.0 to 9.0 months], respectively; hazard ratio for disease progression or death, 0.51 [95% CI, 0.39 to 0.66]; P < .001). Estimated median OS was significantly longer with Gef+C than Gef (not reached v 17 months [95% CI, 13.5 to 20.5 months]; hazard ratio for death, 0.45 [95% CI, 0.31 to 0.65]; P < .001). Clinically relevant grade 3 or greater toxicities occurred in 51% and 25% of patients in the Gef+C and Gef arms, respectively (P < .001). CONCLUSION: Adding pemetrexed and carboplatin chemotherapy to gefitinib significantly prolonged PFS and OS but increased toxicity in patients with NSCLC.