Yosuke Kawashima1, Tatsuro Fukuhara2, Haruhiro Saito3, Naoki Furuya4, Kana Watanabe2, Shunichi Sugawara1, Shunichiro Iwasawa5, Yoshio Tsunezuka6, Ou Yamaguchi7, Morihito Okada8, Kozo Yoshimori9, Ichiro Nakachi10, Masahiro Seike11, Koichi Azuma12, Futoshi Kurimoto13, Yukari Tsubata14, Yuka Fujita15, Hiromi Nagashima16, Gyo Asai17, Satoshi Watanabe18, Masaki Miyazaki19, Koichi Hagiwara20, Toshihiro Nukiwa21, Satoshi Morita22, Kunihiko Kobayashi7, Makoto Maemondo23. 1. Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Sendai Kousei Hospital, Sendai, Japan. 2. Department of Respiratory Medicine, Miyagi Cancer Center, Natori, Japan. 3. Department of Thoracic Oncology, Kanagawa Cancer Center, Yokohama, Japan. 4. Division of Respiratory Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, St Marianna University School of Medicine, Kawasaki, Japan. 5. Department of Respirology, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan. 6. Department of General Thoracic Surgery, Ishikawa Prefectural Central Hospital, Kanazawa, Japan. 7. Department of Respiratory Medicine, Saitama Medical University International Medical Center, Saitama, Japan. 8. Department of Surgical Oncology, Hiroshima University Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan. 9. Clinical Cancer Center, Fukujuji Hospital, Tokyo, Japan. 10. Pulmonary Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Saiseikai Utsunomiya Hospital, Utsunomiya, Japan. 11. Department of Pulmonary Medicine and Oncology, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan. 12. Division of Respirology, Neurology, and Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Kurume University, Kurume, Japan. 13. Department of Thoracic Oncology, Saitama Cancer Center, Saitama, Japan. 14. Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology and Respiratory Medicine, Shimane University, Shimane, Japan. 15. Department of Respiratory Medicine, National Hospital Organization Asahikawa Medical Center, Asahikawa, Japan. 16. Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Iwate Medical University School of Medicine, Yahaba, Japan. 17. Division of Medical Oncology, Aichi Cancer Center Aichi Hospital, Okazaki, Japan. 18. Department of Respiratory Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Niigata University Medical and Dental Hospital, Niigata, Japan. 19. Department of Respiratory Medicine, Suita Municipal Hospital, Osaka, Japan. 20. Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Jichi Medical University, Shimotsuke, Japan. 21. Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan. 22. Department of Biomedical Statistics and Bioinformatics, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan. 23. Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Iwate Medical University School of Medicine, Yahaba, Japan. Electronic address: maemondo-ma693@aioros.ocn.ne.jp.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Bevacizumab is a promising candidate for combination treatment with epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine-kinase inhibitors (eg, erlotinib), which could improve outcomes for patients with metastatic EGFR-mutant non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We have previously shown in NEJ026, a phase 3 trial, that the combination of bevacizumab plus erlotinib significantly prolonged progression-free survival compared with erlotinib alone in these patients. In further analyses, we aimed to examine the effects of bevacizumab-erlotinib on overall survival, time from enrolment to progressive disease during second-line treatment or death, and quality of life. METHODS: This open-label, randomised, multicentre, phase 3 trial (NEJ026) was done in 69 hospitals and medical, community-based centres across Japan. Eligible patients had stage IIIB, stage IV, or postoperative recurrent, EGFR-mutant (exon 19 deletion or exon 21 Leu858Arg point mutation) NSCLC, had not previously received systemic chemotherapy, and were randomly assigned (1:1) by a computer-generated randomisation sequence and minimisation to receive either 150 mg oral erlotinib once daily plus 15 mg/kg intravenous bevacizumab once every 21 days, or 150 mg oral erlotinib once daily, until disease progression or intolerable toxicity. Randomisation was stratified according to sex, smoking status, EGFR mutation subtype, and clinical disease stage. All participants, investigators, and study personnel (including those assessing outcomes) were unmasked to treatment allocation. We report the secondary outcomes of overall survival and quality of life (the period from enrolment to confirmation of a minimally important difference on the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire [EORTC QLQ]-C30), and the exploratory outcome of time from enrolment to progressive disease during second-line treatment or death. Overall survival and the exploratory outcome were analysed in the modified intention-to-treat population, which comprised all randomly assigned patients who received at least one dose of the study drug and had response evaluations. Quality of life was analysed in patients in the modified intention-to-treat population who had completed the quality of life questionnaires. The trial is registered with the University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry, UMIN000017069, and the Japan Registry of Clinical Trials, jRCTs031180056, and is currently closed. FINDINGS: Between June 3, 2015, and Aug 31, 2016, 228 patients were enrolled. 112 patients who received bevacizumab-erlotinib and 112 who received erlotinib only were included in the modified intention-to-treat population. At data cutoff (Nov 30, 2019) and a median follow-up of 39·2 months (IQR 23·9-43·5), the median overall survival was 50·7 months (95% CI 37·3-not estimable [NE]) in the bevacizumab-erlotinib group and 46·2 months (38·2-NE) in the erlotinib-only group (hazard ratio [HR] 1·007, 95% CI 0·681-1·490; p=0·97). In analysis of the exploratory outcome, after a median follow-up of 23·9 months (IQR 14·2-39·1), the median time from enrolment to progressive disease during second-line treatment or death was 28·6 months (95% CI 22·1-35·9) in the bevacizumab-erlotinib group and 24·3 months (20·4-29·1) in the erlotinib-only group (HR 0·773, 95% CI 0·562-1·065). The median time between enrolment and confirmation of a minimally important difference on the EORTC QLQ-C30 was 6·0 months (95% CI 5·2-11·3) in the bevacizumab-erlotinib group and 8·3 months (5·7-13·9) in the erlotinib-only group (p=0·47). INTERPRETATION: The addition of bevacizumab to erlotinib did not prolong survival in patients with metastatic EGFR-mutant NSCLC, but both treatment groups had relatively long survival durations. Why the addition of bevacizumab to erlotinib did not affect overall survival is unclear, but it is possible that the beneficial effects of combination therapy were not seen because overall survival was influenced by treatment regimens used after disease progression. FUNDING: Chugai Pharmaceutical.
BACKGROUND: Bevacizumab is a promising candidate for combination treatment with epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine-kinase inhibitors (eg, erlotinib), which could improve outcomes for patients with metastatic EGFR-mutant non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We have previously shown in NEJ026, a phase 3 trial, that the combination of bevacizumab plus erlotinib significantly prolonged progression-free survival compared with erlotinib alone in these patients. In further analyses, we aimed to examine the effects of bevacizumab-erlotinib on overall survival, time from enrolment to progressive disease during second-line treatment or death, and quality of life. METHODS: This open-label, randomised, multicentre, phase 3 trial (NEJ026) was done in 69 hospitals and medical, community-based centres across Japan. Eligible patients had stage IIIB, stage IV, or postoperative recurrent, EGFR-mutant (exon 19 deletion or exon 21 Leu858Arg point mutation) NSCLC, had not previously received systemic chemotherapy, and were randomly assigned (1:1) by a computer-generated randomisation sequence and minimisation to receive either 150 mg oral erlotinib once daily plus 15 mg/kg intravenous bevacizumab once every 21 days, or 150 mg oral erlotinib once daily, until disease progression or intolerable toxicity. Randomisation was stratified according to sex, smoking status, EGFR mutation subtype, and clinical disease stage. All participants, investigators, and study personnel (including those assessing outcomes) were unmasked to treatment allocation. We report the secondary outcomes of overall survival and quality of life (the period from enrolment to confirmation of a minimally important difference on the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire [EORTC QLQ]-C30), and the exploratory outcome of time from enrolment to progressive disease during second-line treatment or death. Overall survival and the exploratory outcome were analysed in the modified intention-to-treat population, which comprised all randomly assigned patients who received at least one dose of the study drug and had response evaluations. Quality of life was analysed in patients in the modified intention-to-treat population who had completed the quality of life questionnaires. The trial is registered with the University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry, UMIN000017069, and the Japan Registry of Clinical Trials, jRCTs031180056, and is currently closed. FINDINGS: Between June 3, 2015, and Aug 31, 2016, 228 patients were enrolled. 112 patients who received bevacizumab-erlotinib and 112 who received erlotinib only were included in the modified intention-to-treat population. At data cutoff (Nov 30, 2019) and a median follow-up of 39·2 months (IQR 23·9-43·5), the median overall survival was 50·7 months (95% CI 37·3-not estimable [NE]) in the bevacizumab-erlotinib group and 46·2 months (38·2-NE) in the erlotinib-only group (hazard ratio [HR] 1·007, 95% CI 0·681-1·490; p=0·97). In analysis of the exploratory outcome, after a median follow-up of 23·9 months (IQR 14·2-39·1), the median time from enrolment to progressive disease during second-line treatment or death was 28·6 months (95% CI 22·1-35·9) in the bevacizumab-erlotinib group and 24·3 months (20·4-29·1) in the erlotinib-only group (HR 0·773, 95% CI 0·562-1·065). The median time between enrolment and confirmation of a minimally important difference on the EORTC QLQ-C30 was 6·0 months (95% CI 5·2-11·3) in the bevacizumab-erlotinib group and 8·3 months (5·7-13·9) in the erlotinib-only group (p=0·47). INTERPRETATION: The addition of bevacizumab to erlotinib did not prolong survival in patients with metastatic EGFR-mutant NSCLC, but both treatment groups had relatively long survival durations. Why the addition of bevacizumab to erlotinib did not affect overall survival is unclear, but it is possible that the beneficial effects of combination therapy were not seen because overall survival was influenced by treatment regimens used after disease progression. FUNDING: Chugai Pharmaceutical.