Pemetrexed-based chemotherapy in advanced lung adenocarcinoma patients with different EGFR genotypes

Tumour Biol. 2015 Feb;36(2):861-9. doi: 10.1007/s13277-014-2692-4. Epub 2014 Oct 10.

Abstract

Advanced lung adenocarcinoma patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) activating mutations usually are highly sensitive to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), but whether EGFR-mutant lung adenocarcinoma is also responsive to pemetrexed-based chemotherapy remains controversial. We conducted a retrospective study to evaluate the efficacy and outcome of pemetrexed-based chemotherapy in advanced lung adenocarcinoma patients with different EGFR mutation statuses. Sixty-nine EGFR-mutant and 89 wild-type patients with advanced lung adenocarcinoma were enrolled. They all had received pemetrexed-based treatments. Chemotherapy objective response rate (ORR), median progression-free survival (mPFS), and thymidylate synthase (TS) expression levels of EGFR-mutant patients were compared with those of EGFR-wild-type patients. For the EGFR-mutant patients treated with first-line platinum/pemetrexed combinations, the ORR was significantly higher than that of the wild-type patients treated with similar regimens (43 vs. 21%, p = 0.039). Nonetheless, for the patients treated with pemetrexed monotherapy, the difference in ORR was not significant between patients with EGFR mutations and those with wild-type EGFR in any line of treatments (in the first-line setting 20 vs. 13%, p = 0.715; in the second-/third-line setting 13 vs. 8%, p = 0.655). On the other hand, the mPFS for the EGFR-mutant patients treated with first-line combinations was also obviously prolonged (8.3 vs. 6.7 months, p = 0.004). However, among the patients receiving second-line platinum/pemetrexed combinations or any line of single-agent pemetrexed, there was no difference in PFS between EGFR-mutant and wild-type patients. Our results indicated that the efficacies and outcomes of pemetrexed treatment in advanced lung adenocarcinoma patients with EGFR activating mutations were similar to those in patients with EGFR-wild-type genotype, except in the setting of first-line platinum/pemetrexed combination chemotherapy.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adenocarcinoma / drug therapy*
  • Adenocarcinoma / genetics
  • Adenocarcinoma / pathology
  • Adenocarcinoma of Lung
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / drug therapy*
  • Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / genetics
  • Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / pathology
  • Disease-Free Survival
  • ErbB Receptors / genetics*
  • Female
  • Genotype
  • Glutamates / administration & dosage*
  • Guanine / administration & dosage
  • Guanine / analogs & derivatives*
  • Humans
  • Lung Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Lung Neoplasms / genetics
  • Lung Neoplasms / pathology
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Mutation
  • Pemetrexed
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors / administration & dosage
  • Thymidylate Synthase

Substances

  • Glutamates
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors
  • Pemetrexed
  • Guanine
  • Thymidylate Synthase
  • EGFR protein, human
  • ErbB Receptors