Prognostic role of epidermal growth factor receptor mutation status in patients with de novo lung adenocarcinoma

To explore the relationship between the status of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and overall survival (OS) in de novo lung adenocarcinoma.

We retrospectively analyzed 291 lung adenocarcinoma subjects with exact EGFR status. The cases were divided into a mutant-type group (124 patients) and wild-type group (167 patients) according to the status of EGFR. The general information, OS, and possible risk factors influencing the OS were also evaluated.

The EGFR mutation rate was 42.6% (124/291 patients), and there were statistically significant differences in gender, smoking history, and OS (P<0.05), but no significant difference in diagnosed age, alcohol history, TNM stage, clinical stage, and immunohistochemistry between the two groups (P>0.05). The most common subtypes of EGFR mutations were exon 19 and exon 21. The median OS of the total population was 30.20 months [95% confidence interval (CI): 25.94-34.46 months] and the OS in the mutant-type group was better than in the wild-type group (P<0.001). Cox regression demonstrated that N stage, M stage, and EGFR status were the risk factors for OS in de novo lung adenocarcinoma patients (P<0.001), and the relative risk were 1.398 (95% CI: 1.214-1.609), 2.427 (95% CI: 1.780-3.310), and 2.030 (95% CI: 1.528-2.699), respectively.

The OS of EGFR mutant individuals was better than that of wild-type patients in de novo lung adenocarcinoma patients. EGFR mutation may be a useful prognostic indicator in lung adenocarcinoma.