Stage IV EGFR-positive lung cancer treated for nearly 5 years before progression
This lung cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Stage at diagnosis
- Stage IV
- Subtype
- Adenocarcinoma
- Biomarkers
- EGFR L858R mutation
- Sex
- Male
- Spread to
- liver
- Treatment
- targeted therapy and chemotherapy
- Outcome
- In Memory
Treatment course, step by step
- He received afatinib for 5 months, then gefitinib for 15 months.
- He next received osimertinib for 20 months before the cancer progressed.
- He then received carboplatin plus pemetrexed chemotherapy.
What happened, in summary
A 72-year-old man was diagnosed in 2015 with Stage IV lung adenocarcinoma. Imaging showed a left hilar lung lesion together with abnormalities in the liver and right adrenal gland. Testing found an EGFR L858R mutation, which guided several years of targeted treatment.
He first received afatinib for 5 months, stopping because of a severe nail and skin complication. He then received gefitinib for 15 months, until a new liver metastasis and increasing lung nodules showed that the cancer was progressing.
He moved to osimertinib and remained on it for 20 months. During treatment he developed several heart-related complications, including QT prolongation, atrial fibrillation, and reduced heart function. These were treated, allowing osimertinib to continue until further cancer progression.
He then started carboplatin plus pemetrexed chemotherapy. Early imaging showed stable disease in the lung and shrinkage of the liver lesion, but the cancer later progressed. He died from lung cancer 4 years and 8 months after diagnosis.
Where this story comes from
This is a lay summary of an account first published by PMC / PubMed Central. Read the original in full
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Collections this story belongs to
- Stage 4 Lung Cancer 384 stories
- Stage 4 EGFR Mutation Lung Cancer 74 stories
- EGFR Mutation Lung Cancer 112 stories
- Afatinib for Lung Cancer 37 stories
These are lay summaries of published cancer stories, for information only. No two cancers behave the same way, and nothing here predicts your own diagnosis or replaces advice from your oncology team. Read the full disclaimer