First‐line immunotherapy or angiogenesis inhibitor combined with chemotherapy for advanced non‐small cell lung cancer with EGFR exon 20 insertions: Real‐world evidence from China

Abstract

Abstract Background Currently, survival benefit of immunotherapy in advanced non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with EGFR exon 20 insertions (ex20ins) is controversial, though it generally indicates poor response and activity. Compared with standard chemotherapy in combination with bevacizumab, first‐line chemotherapy plus immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) in advanced NSCLC with EGFR ex20ins remains elusive and lacks real‐world evidence. Patients and Methods A retrospective real‐world study was conducted to evaluate clinical outcomes of chemotherapy alone (C), chemotherapy plus ICI (C + I), or chemotherapy plus angiogenesis inhibitors (C + A) as first‐line strategies for advanced NSCLC patients with EGFR ex20ins. Investigator‐assessed response and survival outcomes were compared between subgroups. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis was conducted to reveal concomitant alterations and explore the molecular landscape of ex20ins. Results A total of 164 patients were screened, identifying 35 kinds of ex20ins, and 122 cases treated with C, C + I, and C + A were finally included in the first‐line analysis. C + A achieved much better objective response rate (ORR, 38.1% vs. 18.2%) and significant progression‐free survival (PFS) benefit compared with C (median, 7.73 vs.5.93 months, HR = 0.60, 95% CI: 0.40–0.90, p = 0.014), and it showed similar ORR (38.1% vs. 40.0%), but higher disease control rate (DCR, 96.8% vs. 80.0%) and numerically longer median PFS (7.73 vs. 6.53 months, HR = 0.83, 95% CI: 0.44–1.56, p = 0.30) than C + I. There was no PFS difference between C + I and C, despite of PD‐L1 expression or tumor mutational burden. KEGG analysis revealed concomitant upregulation of PI3K/AKT signaling might mediate intrinsic resistance to ICI in ex20ins. Conclusion First‐line chemotherapy plus angiogenesis inhibitors might yield more survival benefits than chemotherapy alone for NSCLC with EGFR ex20ins, whereas, it suggests that chemotherapy in combination with ICI might not obtain a better survival benefit for this subset of patients. Activation of PI3K/AKT signaling might mediate intrinsic immunosuppression in NSCLC with EGFR ex20ins.

Keywords

• angiogenesis inhibitor
• chemotherapy
• EGFR
• exon 20 insertion
• immune checkpoint inhibitor
• non‐small cell lung cancer