Efficacy and safety of tyrosine kinase inhibitors in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer harboring epidermal growth factor receptor mutation: A network meta-analysis

Abstract

To compare the efficacy and safety of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) as first-line treatment in patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with positive EGFR mutation. Materials & methods: Following a systematic literature review until December 2019, we conducted a random-effects pairwise and network meta-analyses (NMA). We ranked treatments for efficacy and safety based on the surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA). Results: Tyrosine kinase inhibitors of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR-TKI) improved survival outcomes with fewer grade 3 or higher adverse events compared to chemotherapy. Overall survival results suggest that osimertinib has the highest probability of being the most efficacious (SUCRA, 79.9), followed by dacomitinib (SUCRA, 75.8). Adverse events results suggest that osimertinib (SUCRA, 84.3) and gefitinib (SUCRA, 78.9) has the highest probability of being the safest. Conclusion: In this NMA, we found that osimertinib is the most efficacious and safest EGFR-TKI. These results may guide clinicians in choosing the most appropriate treatment option among EGFR-TKIs for their patient's individual clinical characteristics.