Comparison of Survival in Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients in the Pre- and Post-Gefitinib Eras

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was to analyze the survival difference between advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients in the pre-gefitinib and post-gefitinib eras in Korea. Patients and Methods: 830 patients with advanced/metastatic or recurrent NSCLC who received palliative chemotherapy were retrospectively reviewed. Using a matched-pair case-control study design, 334 pairs from the pre-gefitinib era (January 1999 to December 2001) and the post-gefitinib era (January 2002 to December 2005) were matched by age, sex and histology. Results: The median overall survival from the date of first administration of palliative chemotherapy was significantly longer in the post-gefitinib era (11.5 vs. 19.3 months, p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that gefitinib was associated with longer overall survival (hazard ratio 0.58, p < 0.001) as were never having been a smoker, adenocarcinoma histology, good performance, stage IIIB, >= 3 prior episodes of chemotherapy, platinum-based chemotherapy and previous docetaxel or pemetrexed treatment. Patients in the post-gefitinib era showed significantly longer overall survival in almost all subgroups. Gefitinib treatment was of significantly greater benefit in patients with adenocarcinoma than in those with non-adenocarcinoma (test for interaction p < 0.001). Conclusion: These results indicate a significant improvement of survival in advanced NSCLC patients treated with gefitinib in Korea. Copyright (C) 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel