Effects of immediate compared with delayed gefitinib after front-line chemotherapy in Chinese with advanced non-small cell lung cancer

Abstract

8069 Background: To compare therapeutic effects of immediate vs. delayed gefitinib used for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients who obtained disease control (DC) after front-line chemotherapy in Chinese population. Methods: The study included 121 Chinese with advanced NSCLC treated with standard chemotherapy and obtained DC followed by either immediate gefitinib (66 cases) or delayed gefitinib, i.e. when tumors progressed (55 cases). The disease control rate (DCR), median progression-free survival time (PFS), median overall survival time (OS) of the two groups were analyzed. The impact of EGFR mutation status on the treatments was also evaluated. Results: The median PFS of patients treated in the immediate treatment setting was significantly longer than that of patients without gefitinib treatment (15.23 months versus 8.13 months,P<0.001). However, the overall median PFS was similar in patients treated with either immediate or delayed settings (15.23 months and 16.23 months respectively, P=0.450). There was no significant difference in OS between the two groups. Although patients whose tumors had EGFR mutation showed a longer median PFS compared to those without the mutation in both treatment groups, similar overall PFS was observed between the groups for patients with EGFR mutation (18.75 months and 18.30 months for maintenance and second-line groups, respectively). Conclusions: Immediate gefitinib use may improve PFS for Chinese patients with advanced NSCLC after front-line chemotherapy. However, similar PFS may be achieved by delayed use of gefitinib. No significant financial relationships to disclose.