Treatment and survival of patients with EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer and leptomeningeal metastasis: A retrospective cohort analysis

Justine L. Kuiper*, Lizza E. Hendriks, Anthonie J. van der Wekken, Adrianus J. de Langen, Idris Bahce, Erik Thunnissen, Daniëlle A.M. Heideman, Yvonne Berk, Ed J.M. Buijs, Ernst Jan M. Speel, Frans H. Krouwels, Hans J.M. Smit, Harry J.M. Groen, Anne Marie C. Dingemans, Egbert F. Smit

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

109 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Objectives: 

Development of leptomeningeal metastasis (LM) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)-patients is associated with a poor prognosis. It has been suggested that LM-patients with epidermal growth factor receptor mutated (EGFR+) NSCLC have a superior prognosis compared to EGFR-wild type NSCLC. Studies in EGFR+ NSCLC-patients with LM are scarce. We retrospectively evaluated a multi-institutional cohort of EGFR+ NSCLC-patients for LM to assess clinical outcome in relation to patient characteristics and treatment modalities. 

Material and methods: 

Medical records of advanced-stage EGFR+ NSCLC-patients (diagnosed between August 2000 and June 2014) from 11 Dutch hospitals were evaluated for LM as diagnosed by MRI and/or cytopathological liquor analysis. Data on patient characteristics, treatment and outcome were collected. 

Results: 

Thirty-two of 356 (9.0%) advanced-stage EGFR+ NSCLC-patients (median follow-up 21.0 months), were diagnosed with LM between 2006 and 2014. LM was diagnosed by MRI (59.4%), liquor analysis (9.4%) or by both MRI and liquor analysis (31.3%). Median survival after LM-diagnosis was 3.1 months (95% CI: 0.0-7.3). Six- and 12-month survival rates were 43.8% and 18.8%, respectively. Patients with performance status (PS) 0-1 at time of diagnosis of LM had a significantly higher chance to be alive after 6 months and had a significantly longer survival after diagnosis of LM compared to patients with PS ≥ 2 Age, treatment with high-dose EGFR-TKI, radiotherapy and whether LM was the only site of progressive disease did not influence survival after LM-diagnosis. 

Conclusion: 

Although median survival after LM-diagnosis in EGFR-mutated NSCLC-patients was poor, a substantial part of the patients had a prolonged survival of more than 6 months. PS of 0-1 at time of diagnosis of LM was associated with prolonged survival. No other patient- or treatment-related characteristics were identified. Further research is warranted to identify treatment strategies that improve survival in EGFR+ NSCLC-patients with LM.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)255-261
Number of pages7
JournalLung Cancer
Volume89
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2015
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

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