Choroidal metastasis from non-small-cell lung cancer responsive to Osimertinib: a case report : Efficacy of a third-generation epidermal growth factor tyrosine kinase inhibitor

Posterior segment manifestations of ocular metastasis

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

This article reviewed and summarized recent published data on ocular imaging findings and treatment of posterior segment manifestations of ocular metastasis.

RECENT FINDINGS

Advanced ocular imaging can help differentiate ocular metastases from other mimicking lesions, including primary intraocular tumors or infections. Recently, case reports have demonstrated the successful use of targeted systemic therapy to achieve local control of vitreous and choroidal metastases.

SUMMARY

Metastasis can lead to a wide variety of posterior segment ocular manifestations. The choroid is the most common metastatic site, whereas tumor metastasizing to the retina and optic disc are rare. Patients with possible metastatic eye disease are recommended to undergo extensive investigation to determine the underlying primary cancer and ongoing systemic metastases. Currently, there is no consensus on the treatment strategy. Treatment generally includes systemic chemotherapy in combination with local treatment, such as radiotherapy, laser therapy, or anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) treatment.

Effect of the First-Line Therapy with Osimertinib for a Metastatic Choroidal Tumor in Advanced-Stage Lung Cancer: A Case Report

Although the advent of molecular-targeted drugs has improved the prognosis of various cancers, the long-term prognosis and side effects as the first-line therapy for metastatic choroidal tumors remain unclear. We describe a case in which the first-line therapy of osimertinib has shown long-term successful and minimum side effect responses for metastatic choroidal tumors in a patient with advanced-stage lung cancer. The patient was a 62-year-old man who complained of foggy vision and visual field defects in his left eye for 1 month. When he visited his local doctor, a serous retinal detachment was noted in the left eye, and he was referred to our hospital for further examination. The patient had no history of systemic disease. A fundus examination of his left eye showed a slightly elevated choroidal lesion along with the superior retinal vascular arcade. Optical coherence tomography showed a serous retinal detachment around the lesion. Fluorescein angiography showed that the site of the lesion had spotty and mottled hyperfluorescence in the early phase and ring hypofluorescence in the late phase. We suspected a metastatic choroidal tumor and performed a whole-body computed tomography scan, which indicated lung cancer and metastasis to the left iliac bone. The patient was referred to the department of respiratory medicine of our hospital, and after a thorough examination, a diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma (stage IV-B, epidermal growth factor receptor [EGFR] gene mutation positive) was made. Treatment with osimertinib was initiated, and shrinkage of the primary tumor was observed. The elevated choroidal lesion and serous retinal detachment resolved after 2 months of treatment, and no recurrence was observed during the 20 months of treatment. The use of osimertinib as primary treatment for EGFR mutation-positive lung cancer was found to significantly reduce the size of metastatic choroidal tumors and to have a relatively long-lasting antitumor effect without serious ocular complications.

Successful response to first-line treatment with osimertinib for choroidal metastasis from EGFR-mutated non-small-cell lung cancer

Purpose

Describe the use of osimertinib, a third-generation epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor, as the first-line treatment in a patient with choroidal and central nervous system metastases from EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer.

Observations

A 68-year-old man presented with an amelanotic choroidal lesion in the left eye concerning for choroidal metastasis. Systemic evaluation identified widely metastatic adenocarcinoma of the lung with EGFR exon 19 mutation. Within one month of initiating treatment with osimertinib, there was complete resolution of the subretinal fluid over the choroidal lesion and decreased thickness of the lesion. At follow-up after three months of treatment, the lesion was clinically involuted. Positron emission tomography at two months and magnetic resonance imaging of the brain at three months showed significant interval decrease in size and activity of the primary right lung lesion, central nervous system lesions, and other metastatic sites with no new metastatic lesions. After 17 months of follow up, the lesion remained involuted.

Conclusions and Importance

Osimertinib may be considered as a first-line treatment option in patients with choroidal metastases from an EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer.

Treatment of Choroidal Metastasis from Epidermal Growth Factor Mutant Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer with First-line Osimertinib Therapy

Purpose

To illustrate the regression of a metastatic lesion through ophthalmic imaging and correlating findings with standard chest imaging and treatment with osimertinib, an oral chemotherapy agent specific to Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor + Non-small Cell Lung Cancer (EGFR+ NSCLC).

Case Report

A 63-year-old Asian male presented to ophthalmology with a complaint of left blurry vision. Initial ophthalmic exam revealed a choroidal lesion and imaging results highlighted a spiculated lung mass with brain and bony metastases. Osimertinib was chosen for its specificity and ability to cross the blood-brain barrier. Follow-up ophthalmic and radiographic imaging were repeated over the course of treatment.

Conclusion

After the initiation of osimertinib, ophthalmic and computed tomography imaging highlighted the regression of the ocular metastatic disease and primary malignancy, respectively.Osimertinib is an effective first-line treatment of EGFR+ NSCLC and corresponding metastatic sites. Additionally, ophthalmic imaging can be used to monitor general response to chemotherapy agents when ocular metastasis is identified.

A Comprehensive Understanding of Choroidal Metastasis from Lung Cancer

The incidence of lung cancer with intraocular metastasis is low, of which choroidal metastasis is the most painful metastatic lesion. The clinical symptoms resulting from choroidal metastasis from lung cancer easily detected although they are rarely identified prior to the diagnosis of the primary malignancy. The quality of life of patients is inevitably impaired. Some lung cancer patients complain of ocular symptoms as the first manifestation of lung cancer. Early diagnosis and treatment can significantly overcome or delay the visual impairment and improve prognosis. The main therapeutic modalities include systemic and local treatments, while observation is also a treatment option. Currently, the feasibility and effectiveness of various treatment options are controversial worldwide. Herein, we summarize the underlying mechanisms, epidemiology, clinical features, auxiliary examinations, diagnosis, and recent treatment options for intraocular metastases.

Epidermal growth factor receptor-mutant non-small cell lung Cancer and Choroidal metastases: long-term outcome and response to epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors

Background

Choroidal metastases are the most common eye metastatic site. The prevalence of choroidal metastases in NSCLC patients has been reported to vary from 0.2 to 7% in historical series. Although previously reported, little is known about choroidal metastasis in Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR)-mutant Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This study sought to describe the prevalence of choroidal metastases among patients with EGFR-mutated NSCLC and their characteristics, and to estimate their impact on prognosis.

Methods

We conducted a single-center retrospective study including all consecutive metastatic EGFR-mutant NSCLC patients, from Sept. 2015 to Oct. 2018. The EGFR-mutant NSCLC patients were identified via the Department of Genetics’ files. Patients who exhibited choroidal metastases were compared to patients without choroidal metastases. Kaplan-Meier analysis and log-rank test were conducted to assess median overall survival (OS) from diagnosis for the two groups. The study was approved by the IRB as CEPRO number #2020–010.

Results

Prevalence of choroidal metastases in EGFR-mutated NSCLCs was 8.4% (7/83). Five were women, and four current or former smokers. Molecular analysis showed three tumors with exon 19 deletion, three with L858R mutation, and one with complex exon 21 mutation. The choroidal metastases were symptomatic in six/seven patients. Visual disturbances decreased in all but one symptomatic cases upon EGFR TKI, and the choroidal response was maintained over time.

Median follow-up was 42.2 mo (95%CI [37.2–47.1]). Median OS in the choroidal metastasis group was 23.4 mo (95%CI [0.1–51.4]) versus 27.9 mo (95%CI [16.9–38.9]) in the non-choroidal metastasis group (p = 0.32). In the choroidal metastasis group, 2-year and 5-year OS were 47.6 and 0%, respectively, versus 55.8 and 26.3% in the non-choroidal metastasis subset.

Conclusions

Choroidal metastases in NSCLC EGFR-mutant patients are rare but should be systematically suspected in case of visual disturbance. TKIs are efficient for treating visual symptoms. Whether choroidal metastases confer a worse prognosis remains unclear owing to the third-generation EGFR TKI osimertinib first-line registration.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12885-020-07630-6.

Treating Choroidal Metastases and Improving Vision with Osimertinib in EGFR T790M-Mutated Lung Adenocarcinoma: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

A 41-year-old never-smoking female was diagnosed with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutated T2bN3M1b lung adenocarcinoma with axillary lymph nodes. She complained of blurred vision in the left eye (2/60) and was subsequently found to have a left choroidal metastasis. Treatment with tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) erlotinib was started, and after 1 year of disease stability, she developed unsteadiness and worsening visual disturbance (1/60). Brain imaging showed 24 new brain metastases, which were treated with Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery. An enlarging axillary lymph node was biopsied, which identified the T790M mutation, and she commenced the novel TKI osimertinib. Three weeks later, her choroidal lesion had regressed from 3.1 mm to 2.2 mm, and after 2 months of osimertinib, her visual acuity had improved to 6/9. At the last follow-up 8 months after initiation of osimertinib, her choroidal metastasis remains stable, and visual acuity has improved to 6/6. Evidence suggests that osimertinib's efficacy in treating cerebral metastases is superior to that of chemotherapy and other EGFR-TKIs (gefitinib and erlotinib); however, the literature is sparse with regards to the use of osimertinib for the treatment of intraocular disease. In this case, the need for intense daily radiation treatment with its associated toxicities was negated, and as such we propose that osimertinib may be a promising treatment for choroidal metastasis secondary to EGFR-mutated lung adenocarcinoma.

Therapeutic approaches for T790M mutation positive non-small-cell lung cancer

INTRODUCTION

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a subset of lung cancer with demonstrated response to targeted therapies. However, resistance to the first targeted approach usually occurs within the first year, and it is associated in 50-60% of cases to the T790M resistance mutation. Areas covered: The review provides an overview on the significance of the presence of the T790M mutation, its detection, treatment options and subsequent mechanisms of resistance. Expert commentary: Osimertinib is the current treatment option for T790M mutation positive NSCLC after progression to first or second-generation EGFR TKIs, with activity also on brain metastasis. However, the scenario is in continuous evolution and results from clinical trials are awaited in first-line setting and in combination strategies.