Optimal Treatment Strategy for Oligo-Recurrence Lung Cancer Patients with Driver Mutations

The efficacy of local therapies for lung cancer patients with postoperative oligo-recurrence has been reported. However, whether local therapies should be chosen over molecular targeted therapies for oligo-recurrence patients with driver mutations remains controversial. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the optimal initial treatment strategy for oligo-recurrence in lung cancer patients with driver mutations.

Among 2152 patients with lung adenocarcinoma who underwent surgical resection at our institute between 2008 and 2020, 66 patients with driver mutations who experienced cancer oligo-recurrence after surgery and were treated with local or molecularly targeted therapy as an initial therapy after recurrence were evaluated. Oligo-recurrence was characterized by the presence of 1 to 3 recurrent lesions. These patients were investigated, focusing on their post-recurrence therapies and prognoses.

The median follow-up period was 71 months. Local and molecular targeted therapies were administered to 41 and 25 patients, respectively. The number of recurrence lesions tended to be lower in the initial local therapy group than in the molecular targeted therapy group. In the initial local therapy group, 23 patients (56%) subsequently received molecular targeted therapies. The time from recurrence to the initiation of molecular targeted therapy was significantly longer in the local therapy group than in the molecular targeted therapy group (p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in post-recurrence overall survival (hazard ratio, 1.429; 95% confidence interval, 0.701-2.912; log-rank, p = 0.324) and post-recurrence progression-free survival (hazard ratio, 0.799; 95% confidence interval, 0.459-1.390; log-rank, p = 0.426) in the initial local ablative therapy group compared with the initial molecular targeted therapy group.

Local therapies as a first-line treatment did not show statistically significant differences in post-recurrence survival or progression-free survival compared with molecular targeted therapies. However, local therapies as an initial treatment should be considered preferably, as they can cure the recurrence and can delay the start of administration of molecular targeted therapies.