Mutation-tailored treatment selection in non-small cell lung cancer patients in daily clinical practice

PATH consortium, Elisabeth M.P. Steeghs, Harry J.M. Groen, Ed Schuuring, Mieke J. Aarts, Ronald A.M. Damhuis, Quirinus J.M. Voorham, Marjolijn J.L. Ligtenberg, Katrien Grünberg*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

    19 Citations (Scopus)
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    Abstract

    Objectives: The number of targeted drugs in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is ever-expanding and requires testing of an increasing number of predictive biomarkers. We present a comprehensive real-world evaluation of molecular testing and treatment selection in stage IV NSCLC patients in the Netherlands from 2017 to 2019.

    Materials and methods: Molecular pathology reports of NSCLC patients were collected from the Dutch Pathology Registry in time intervals between Oct-2017 and April-2019 (N = 5,038 patients) to study diagnostic yield. Linkage between the Dutch Pathology Registry and the Netherlands Cancer Registry enabled studying molecular testing rates for stage IV NSCLC initially diagnosed in 2017-Q4 (N = 1,193) and application of targeted therapy in stage IV NSCLC patients with potentially druggable alterations reported between Oct-2017 and June-2018 (N = 401).

    Results: Predictive molecular testing was performed in 85.0% of adenocarcinomas, 60.4% of NSCLC-not otherwise specified (NOS) and 17.4% of squamous cell carcinomas. Testing rates were highest for EGFR and ALK (adenocarcinoma: 82.7% and 80.7%, respectively). Incidence of molecular driver alterations (i.e. EGFR, KRAS, ALK, ROS1, BRAF, MET, ERBB2, FGFR1) was 61.1% for adenocarcinomas, 42.3% for NSCLC-NOS, and 24.7% for squamous cell carcinomas. Therapeutically relevant alterations were detected at a higher frequency by NGS- versus non-NGS-approaches (adenocarcinoma: 62.4% versus 56.5%, respectively (P = 0.004)) due to a lower failure rate, more comprehensive testing and higher sensitivity. Uptake of treatment with a registered targeted therapy in eligible patients varied per actionable target, i.e. EGFR: 85.8%, ALK: 74.7%, ROS1: 33.7%, BRAF: 51.5%. Treatment with agents in clinical studies/compassionate use was lower, i.e. MET: 22.8%, HER2: 18.9%, RET: 6.7%.

    Conclusion: Real-world data show NGS-based approaches to be superior to non-NGS. Uptake of molecular testing and the corresponding targeted treatments was less than expected based on guidelines and even more so for trials, off-label use and compassionate use, indicating less than optimal access to rational treatment options.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)87-97
    Number of pages11
    JournalLung Cancer
    Volume167
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - May-2022

    Keywords

    • Adenocarcinoma
    • Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/drug therapy
    • Carcinoma, Squamous Cell
    • ErbB Receptors/genetics
    • Humans
    • Lung Neoplasms/drug therapy
    • Mutation/genetics
    • Protein-Tyrosine Kinases
    • Proto-Oncogene Proteins/therapeutic use
    • Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf

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