Prognostic Impact of EGFR Driver Mutations on Postoperative Disease Recurrence in Lung Adenocarcinoma.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the prognostic significance of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) sensitizing mutations in patients with lung adenocarcinoma who underwent complete surgical resection.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical records of 164 patients with lung adenocarcinoma who underwent surgery from 2003 to 2010. Seventy-four patients harbored EGFR mutations; two with exon 18 mutations, 27 with exon 19 mutations, and 45 with exon 21 mutations.

Results: There were more female patients and more never-/light smokers among patients with EGFR mutations than among patients without EGFR mutations. Patients with EGFR mutations had a trend for better disease-free survival and overall survival compared to patients without EGFR mutations (p=0.068 and p=0.049, respectively). Patients with exon 21 mutations had significantly better disease-free survival than patients with exon 19 mutations (p=0.027).

Conclusions: Adenocarcinomas harboring EGFR exon 21 mutation were less malignant than adenocarcinomas harboring exon 19 mutation.