Adding local therapy to EGFR inhibitor treatment for lung cancer that has spread to the liver

This study wanted to find out if adding extra treatment targeted to the liver alongside treatment with EGFR inhibitors helped in patients with lung cancer that had spread to the liver. The study found that adding the extra treatment meant the patients survived longer compared to treatment with EGFR inhibitors alone.

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is found on some types of cell. It is involved in receiving signals from the body to tell the cell to grow. It is sometimes found in high numbers on some types of cancer cells. It is possible to use this receptor to target those cancer cells and stop them from growing. One type of cancer which commonly has EGFR in high numbers is non-small cell lung cancers. By targeting EGFR using an EGFR inhibitor, it is possible to kill the tumor. It is common for non-small cell lung cancers to spread to the liver. Local therapy is any type of treatment that is targeted at the organ that has the tumor in it. For example, radiation therapy aimed at the liver, or surgery on the liver. It is not known if adding local therapy to EGFR treatment will result in added survival.

This study consisted of 92 patients. All of these patients had non-small cell lung cancer which had spread to the liver. Some of the patients received treatment with only EGFR inhibitors, while some also had other treatments. The other treatments (called local therapy) included radiation therapy or surgery.

The study found that in the patients that received local therapy and EGFR inhibitors, the cancer did stopped growing for an average of 13.8 months. This is compared to the patients who received only EGFR inhibitors whose cancer stopped growing for 8.6 months. The patients that received local therapy and EGFR inhibitors survived for an average of 31.2 months. This is compared to the patients who received only EGFR inhibitors who survived for an average of 18.5 months.

The study concluded that adding local therapy to EGFR inhibitor treatment meant that patients with lung cancer that had spread to the liver survived longer compared to those who only had treatment with EGFR inhibitors.

This is a very small study. It needs to be redone with better information to be sure of the results.

Discuss your treatment plan with your oncologist.