Aims: This study described treatment patterns, healthcare resource utilization (HRU) and costs among advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (a/mNSCLC) patients with different epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation types.
Materials and methods: This retrospective study leveraged NeoGenomics NeoNucleus linked with IQVIA PharMetrics Plus between 01 January 2016 to 30 April 2021 (study period). Patients with evidence of a/mNSCLC between 01 July 2016 to 31 March 2021 (selection window) with EGFR test results indicating exon 19 deletion (exon19del), exon 21 L858R (L858R), or exon 20 insertion (exon20i) mutations were included; date of first observed evidence of a/mNSCLC was the index date. Treatment patterns, all-cause HRU and costs during ≥1 month follow-up were reported for each cohort (exon19del, L858R, and exon20i).
Results: A total of 106 exon19del, 75 L858R, and 13 exon20i patients met the study criteria. The prevalence of hospitalization was highest in the exon20i cohort (76.9%), followed by L858R (62.7%) and exon19del (55.7%) cohorts. A higher proportion of patients had evidence of hospice/end-of-life care in the exon20i (30.8%) and L858R (29.3%) cohorts relative to the exon19del cohort (22.6%). The exon20i cohort had higher median total healthcare costs per patient per month ($27,069) relative to exon19del ($17,482) and L858R ($17,763). EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) were the most frequently observed treatment type for exon19del and L858R cohorts, while chemotherapy was the most observed treatment in exon20i cohort.
Limitations: The sample size for the study cohorts was small, thus no statistical comparisons were conducted.
Conclusions: This is one of the first real-world studies to describe HRU and costs among a/mNSCLC patients by specific EGFR mutation type. HRU and costs varied between EGFR mutation types and were highest among exon20i cohort, potentially reflecting higher disease burden and unmet need among patients with this mutation.
Keywords: EGFR mutations; Exon 20 insertion; I; I1; I10; I11; L858R mutation; exon 19 deletion; healthcare resource utilization; non-small cell lung cancer; treatment pattern.
Patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in an advanced or metastatic stage (a/mNSCLC) where cancer has spread to other parts of the body have high chance of dying within five years. Treatment and management of a/mNSCLC also incurs significant healthcare resource utilization (HRU) and costs. Patients with a/mNSCLC may have their epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene mutated with different variations. Our study described what a/mNSCLC patients were treated with, their HRU and healthcare costs separately for the following three types of EGFR mutations: exon 19 deletion (exon19del), exon 21 L858R (L858R), or exon 20 insertion (exon20i). Our study found that patients with exon19del or L858R mutation were commonly treated with EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), while exon20i patients were mostly treated with chemotherapy due to lack of targeted treatment for exon20i during the time when the study was conducted. HRU and healthcare costs were highest for patients with exon20i, which shows that patients with exon20i face high burden and have a need for new treatment options.