Effects of icotinib with and without radiation therapy on patients with EGFR mutant non-small cell lung cancer and brain metastases

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>EGFR-TKIs and radiation therapy (RT) are the principal treatment for patients with brain metastases (BM) and EGFR mutant NSCLC. However, the optimal use of brain RT for patients with asymptomatic BM remains undefined. A total of 152 patients were identified. 58 patients were excluded. Of the remaining 97 patients, 56 patients received upfront RT followed by icotinib, including WBRT or SRS. 41 patients received icotinib therapy alone. The mOS from diagnosis of BM was 27.0 months for the whole cohort (95% CI, 23.9–30.1 months). There was no difference in OS between the RT followed by icotinib group and the icotinib alone group (31.9 <jats:italic>vs.</jats:italic> 27.9 months, <jats:italic>P</jats:italic> = 0.237), and similar results were found in the SRS subgroup (35.5 vs. 27.9 months, <jats:italic>P</jats:italic> = 0.12). Patients with the <jats:italic>EGFR</jats:italic> Del19 mutation had a longer OS than patients with the exon 21 L858R mutation (32.7 vs. 27.4, <jats:italic>P</jats:italic> = 0.037). Intracranial progression-free survival (PFS) was improved in the patients who received RT followed by icotinib compared to those receiving icotinib alone (22.4 vs. 13.9 months, <jats:italic>P</jats:italic> = 0.043). Patients with EGFR-mutant adenocarcinoma and BM treated with icotinib exhibited prolonged survival. A longer duration of intracranial control was observed with brain RT.</jats:p>