Serum carcinoembryonic antigen levels predicts the efficacy of EGFR-TKI in non-small cell lung cancer harboring EGFR mutations

摘要

Objectives: Not all the patients harboring epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations have a clinical response after the treatment of EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI). The purpose of the present study was to find whether the baseline carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels were associated with the efficacy of EGFR-TKI in patients harboring EGFR mutations. Materials and Methods: Clinical features, serum tumor marker levels, and survival time were analyzed, retrospectively, in 200 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients harboring EGFR mutations treated with EGFR-TKI. Results: The total objective response rate (ORR) is 44.0% and disease control rate is 84.5%. The disease control rate in the patients with high CEA levels was significantly higher than that with low CEA levels (88.3 vs 74.5%, P = 0.029). There was no significant difference in progression-free survival (PFS) between high (≥5 ng/ml) and normal CEA groups ( ng/ml) were independent predictive factors for PFS (HR = 1.412, 93% CI: 1.042–1.913, P = 0.026). Conclusions: Baseline serum CEA levels can serve as predictive factors for the treatment of EGFR-TKI in NSCLC patients harboring EGFR mutations.