A retrospective study of the efficacy of combined EGFR-TKI plus VEGF inhibitor/cytotoxic therapy vs. EGFR-TKI monotherapy for PD-L1-positive EGFR-mutant non-small cell lung cancer: North Japan Lung Cancer Study Group 2202

The present multicenter study was performed to compare the efficacy of epidermal growth factor receptor-Tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI) monotherapy with that of combined EGFR-TKI plus vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGF) inhibitor/cytotoxic therapy in patients with programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1)-positive EGFR-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Data from patients with PD-L1-positive EGFR-mutant NSCLC were collected from 12 institutes. Survival in patients treated with first-and second-generation EGFR-TKIs, osimertinib (third-generation EGFR-TKI), and combined EGFR-TKI plus VEGF inhibitor/cytotoxic therapy was analyzed by multiple regression analysis with adjustments for sex, performance status, EGFR mutation status, PD-L1 expression level, and the presence or absence of brain metastasis using a Cox proportional hazards model. Data from a total of 263 patients were analyzed, including 111 (42.2%) patients who had received monotherapy with a first-or second-generation EGFR-TKI, 132 (50.2%) patients who had received osimertinib monotherapy, and 20 (7.6%) patients who had received combined EGFR-TKI plus VEGF inhibitor/cytotoxic therapy (hereafter referred to as combined therapy). Multiple regression analysis using the Cox proportional hazards model showed that the hazard ratio (95% confidence interval) for progression-free survival was 0.73 (0.54-1.00) in the patients who had received osimertinib monotherapy and 0.47 (0.25-0.90) in patients who had received combined therapy. The hazard ratio for overall survival was 0.98 (0.65-1.48) in the patients who had received osimertinib monotherapy and 0.52 (0.21-1.31) in patients who had received combined therapy. In conclusion, combined therapy was associated with a significant reduction in the risk of progression compared with first-and second-generation EGFR-TKI monotherapy, and therefore, may be promising for the treatment of patients of NSCLC.