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. 2021 Mar 8;16(3):e0247620.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0247620. eCollection 2021.

Epidemiological and clinical burden of EGFR Exon 20 insertion in advanced non-small cell lung cancer: A systematic literature review

Heather Burnett  1 , Helena Emich  2 , Chris Carroll  3 , Naomi Stapleton  2 , Parthiv Mahadevia  4 , Tracy Li  4
Affiliations

Epidemiological and clinical burden of EGFR Exon 20 insertion in advanced non-small cell lung cancer: A systematic literature review

Heather Burnett et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Objectives: The burden of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) exon 20 insertion mutation (Exon 20ins) in non-small cell lung cancer is not well understood. A systematic review was conducted to identify evidence on mutation frequency, prognostic impact, clinical, patient-reported, and economic outcomes associated with Exon 20ins.

Materials and methods: Searches were conducted in Embase and Medline and supplemented with recent conference proceedings. Included studies were not limited by intervention, geography, or publication year.

Results: Seventy-eight unique studies were included; 53 reporting mutation frequency, 13 prognostic impact, 36 clinical outcomes, and one humanistic burden. No economic burden data were identified. The frequency of Exon 20ins mutation ranged from 0.1% to 4% of all NSCLC cases and 1% to 12% of all EGFR mutations. Data on the prognostic impact of Exon 20ins were heterogeneous but highlighted poorer outcomes in patients with Exon 20ins mutation compared with patients with other EGFR mutations and EGFR wildtype across a wide range of therapies and treatment lines. Comparative evidence on the clinical efficacy and safety of currently available therapies were limited, as were sample sizes of studies reporting on real-world effectiveness. Nine single-arm trials and 27 observational studies reported clinical outcomes for patients with Exon 20ins. Trends towards better survival and response were observed for chemotherapy compared with TKIs as first-line treatments. For subsequent treatment lines, novel targeted therapies provided encouraging preliminary responses while results for chemotherapy were less favorable. Limited safety data were reported. One conference abstract described the symptom burden for Exon 20ins patients with fatigue and pain being most common.

Conclusion: Findings of the systematic review show a high unmet need for safe and efficacious treatments for patients with Exon 20ins as well and need for further evidence generation to better understand the patient-level and economic impact for these patients.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have read the journal’s policy and have the following competing interests: HB, HE, and NS are paid employees of Evidera, a consultancy which provides consulting and other research services to pharmaceutical, medical device, and other organizations. In their salaried positions, they work with a variety of companies and are precluded from receiving payment or honoraria directly from these organizations for services rendered. Evidera received funding from Janssen for the involvement of their employees in this research. TL and PM are paid employees of Janssen. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials. There are no patents, products in development or marketed products associated with this research to declare. CC has no conflicts to disclose.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. PRISMA diagram.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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