Brain metastasis in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with uncommon EGFR mutations: a report of seven cases and literature review

A Review of the Molecular Determinants of Therapeutic Response in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Brain Metastases

Lung cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related morbidity and mortality worldwide. Metastases in the brain are a common hallmark of advanced stages of the disease, contributing to a dismal prognosis. Lung cancer can be broadly classified as either small cell lung cancer (SCLC) or non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). NSCLC represents the most predominant histology subtype of lung cancer, accounting for the majority of lung cancer cases. Recent advances in molecular genetics, coupled with innovations in small molecule drug discovery strategies, have facilitated both the molecular classification and precision targeting of NSCLC based on oncogenic driver mutations. Furthermore, these precision-based strategies have demonstrable efficacy across the blood-brain barrier, leading to positive outcomes in patients with brain metastases. This review provides an overview of the clinical features of lung cancer brain metastases, as well as the molecular mechanisms that drive NSCLC oncogenesis. We also explore how precision medicine-based strategies can be leveraged to improve NSCLC brain metastases.

The Efficacy and Safety of Afatinib in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients with Brain Metastasis: A Meta-Analysis

Aim

The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of afatinib in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with brain metastasis based on meta-analysis.

Methods

Related literatures were searched in the following databases: EMbase, PubMed, China Knowledge Network (CNKI), Wanfang, Weipu, Google Scholar, the China Biomedical Literature Service System, and other databases. Clinical trials and observational studies that met the requirements were selected for meta-analysis using Revman 5.3. The hazard ratio (HR) was used as an indicator of the impact of afatinib.

Results

A total of 142 related literatures were acquired, but after screening, five literatures were selected for data extraction. The following indices were compared: the progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and common adverse reactions (ARs) of grade 3 and above. A total of 448 patients with brain metastases were included and were divided into two groups: the control group (no afatinib treatment, with chemotherapy alone and the first-generation EGFR-TKIs) and the afatinib group. The results showed that afatinib could improve PFS (HR: 0.58, 95% CI: 0.39-0.85, P < 0.05) and ORR (OR = 2.86, 95% CI: 1.45-2.57, P < 0.05), but had no benefit on OS (HR: 1.13, 95% CI: 0.15-8.75, P > 0.05) and DCR (OR = 2.87, 95% CI: 0.97-8.48, P > 0.05). For the safety of afatinib, the incidence of grade-3-and-above ARs was low (HR: 0.01, 95% CI: 0.00-0.02, P < 0.05).

Conclusion

Afatinib improves the survival of NSCLC patients with brain metastases and shows satisfactory safety.

Clinical outcomes of advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients harboring distinct subtypes of EGFR mutations and receiving first-line tyrosine kinase inhibitors: brain metastasis and de novo T790M matters

Background

The clinical features, survival outcomes and patterns of treatment failure of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients harboring distinct subtypes of EGFR mutations and receiving first-line EGFR tyrosine kinases inhibitor (TKIs) are not fully understood.

Methods

Consecutive metastatic EGFR-mutant NSCLC patients receiving first-line EGFR-TKIs from October 2010 to March 2020 were enrolled and classified into two main groups based on the EGFR mutation subtypes: common mutation (L858R or exon 19 deletion), uncommon mutation (other EGFR mutations).

Results

Of the 1081 patients included, 74 (6.8%) harbored uncommon mutations. The baseline characteristics were generally balanced between the two groups, except that bone metastasis developed less frequently in patients with uncommon mutations (p = 0.02). No significant difference of survival outcomes was found between the two groups, except that among patients with baseline brain metastasis, the intracranial time to progression was significantly shorter in patients with uncommon mutations. Nine of the 17 patients with de novo T790M mutation received Osimertinib, whose overall survival tended to be longer than the remaining 8 patients without Osimertinib treatment (p = 0.08). The patterns of treatment failure were generally consistent between the two groups, except which patients with uncommon mutations had a higher risk developing progressive disease in the brain.

Conclusion

First-line EGFR-TKIs seemed to be less effective in controlling and preventing brain metastasis in patients with uncommon EGFR mutations and Osimertinib was associated with promising efficacy in patients with de novo T790M mutation, which warranted further validation.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12885-022-09245-5.

Long non-coding RNA LINC00339 facilitates the tumorigenesis of non-small cell lung cancer by sponging miR-145 through targeting FOXM1

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is one of leading causes of cancer-related death worldwide. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) has been identified to modulate the tumorigenesis of NSCLC. However, the precise molecular mechanism of lncRNAs in the course is still unclear. Results showed that LINC00339 was significantly up-regulated in NSCLC tissue and cells, which indicated the poor prognosis of NSCLC patients. Loss-of-function experiments showed that LINC00339 silencing inhibited the proliferation and invasion, accelerated the apoptosis, and suppressed the tumor growth of NSCLC cells in vitro and in vivo. Luciferase reporter assay and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) revealed that LINC00339 promoted the NSCLC progression via FOXM1 via targeting miR-145. In conclusion, our results identify the important role of the LINC00339/miR-145/FOXM1 axis in the NSCLC tumorigenesis, providing neoteric mechanism for the NSCLC tumorigenesis.