Lung cancer patients harboring epidermal growth factor receptor mutation among those infected by human immunodefciency virus

Abstract

With the advent of antiretroviral therapy, lung cancer has become a crucial health problem among individuals living with human immunodefciency virus (HIV). In East Asian populations, the frequency of lung cancer patients harboring epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations is greater than in other populations. Herein, we present two cases of advanced non-small cell lung cancer with EGFR mutations in patients treated with EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Both patients were male, 67 and 59 years of age, with known HIV infection and immunologically stable disease with antiretroviral therapy. Case 1 was treated with erlotinib for recurrent adenocarcinoma metastasizing to the liver and brain harboring EGFR mutation in exon 21 L858R. The duration of treatment effcacy was 9.7 months. Case 2 had an EGFR mutation exon 19 in-frame deletion with bone metastasis and was treated with geftinib for 22.1 months in combination with antiretroviral therapy. These advanced lung cancer patients living with HIV with EGFR mutations demonstrate the promising effectiveness and safety of EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors concomitant with antiretroviral therapy for an extended period.