Cancer Res Treat.  2025 Jan;57(1):83-94. 10.4143/crt.2024.073.

Factors Associated with Postoperative Recurrence in Stage I to IIIA Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer with Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Mutation: Analysis of Korean National Population Data

Affiliations
  • 1Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Uijeongbu St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Uijeongbu, Korea
  • 2Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
  • 3Department of Hospital Pathology, Yeouido St. Mary’s hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea
  • 4Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
  • 5Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea
  • 6Department of Radiology, Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea
  • 7Proton Therapy Center, Research Institute and Hospital, National Cancer Center, Goyang, Korea
  • 8Department of Radiation Oncology, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seongnam, Korea
  • 9Department of Hematology-Oncology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
  • 10Division of Pulmonology, Chungnam National University College of Medicine, Daejeon, Korea
  • 11Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seongnam, Korea
  • 12Department of Pulmonary, Daegu Catholic University Medical Center, Daegu Catholic University School of Medicine, Daegu, Korea
  • 13Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Pusan National University Hospital, Busan, Korea
  • 14Department of Pathology, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Korea
  • 15Department of Public Health Science, Graduate School of Public Healthy, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea
  • 16Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital, Anyang, Korea
  • 17Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Yeouido St. Mary’s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea

Abstract

Purpose
Recent development in perioperative treatment of resectable non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have changed the landscape of early lung cancer management. The ADAURA trial has demonstrated the efficacy of adjuvant osimertinib treatment in resectable NSCLC patients; however, studies are required to show which subgroup of patients are at a high risk of relapse and require adjuvant epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor treatment. This study evaluated risk factors for postoperative relapse among patients who underwent complete resection.
Materials and Methods
Data were obtained from the Korean Association for Lung Cancer Registry (KALC-R), a database created using a retrospective sampling survey by the Korean Central Cancer Registry (KCCR) and the Lung Cancer Registration Committee.
Results
A total of 3,176 patients who underwent curative resection was evaluated. The mean observation time was approximately 35.4 months. Among stage I to IIIA NSCLC patients, the EGFR-mutant subgroup included 867 patients, and 75.2%, 11.2%, and 11.8% were classified as stage I, stage II, and stage III, respectively. Within the EGFR-mutant subgroup, 44 (5.1%) and 121 (14.0%) patients showed early and late recurrence, respectively. Multivariate analysis on association with postoperative relapse among the EGFR-mutant subgroup showed that age, pathologic N and TNM stages, pleural invasion status, and surgery type were independent significant factors.
Conclusion
Among the population that underwent complete resection for early NSCLC with EGFR mutation, patients with advanced stage, pleural invasion, or limited resection are more likely to show postoperative relapse.

Keyword

Recurrence; Non-small-cell lung carcinoma; ErbB receptors

Figure

  • Fig. 1. Study flow diagram. NSCLC, non–small cell lung cancer.


Reference

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