EGFR-plasma mutations in prognosis for non-small cell lung cancer treated with EGFR TKIs: A meta-analysis

Abstract

Background: The plasma-based epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation testing is approved recently to use in clinical practice. However, it has not been used as a prognostic marker yet because of contradictory results. Aim: This meta-analysis aims to clarify the role of the EGFR-plasma test in prognosis for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have mutant tumors and receive EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Methods and Results: The PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar databases were searched for relevant studies by April 10, 2021. The hazard ratio (HR) from reports was extracted and used to assess the correlation of EGFR-plasma status with progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). A total of 35 eligible studies with 4106 patients were enrolled in the final analysis. Patients with concurrent EGFR mutations in pretreatment plasma have shorter PFS (HR = 2.00, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.73–2.31, p