Japanese Lung Cancer Society Guidelines for Stage IV NSCLC With EGFR Mutations

Patients with NSCLC in East Asia, including Japan, frequently contain EGFR mutations. In 2018, we published the latest full clinical practice guidelines on the basis of those provided by the Japanese Lung Cancer Society Guidelines Committee. The purpose of this study was to update those recommendations, especially for the treatment of metastatic or recurrent EGFR-mutated NSCLC. We conducted a literature search of systematic reviews of randomized controlled and nonrandomized trials published between 2018 and 2019 that multiple physicians had reviewed independently. On the basis of those studies and the advice from the Japanese Society of Lung Cancer Expert Panel, we developed updated guidelines according to the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation system. We also evaluated the benefits of overall and progression-free survival, end points, toxicities, and patients’ reported outcomes. For patients with NSCLC harboring EGFR-activating mutations, the use of EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR TKIs), especially osimertinib, had the best recommendation as to first-line treatment. We also recommended the combination of EGFR TKI with other agents (platinum-based chemotherapy or antiangiogenic agents); however, it can lead to toxicity. In the presence of EGFR uncommon mutations, except for an exon 20 insertion, we also recommended the EGFR TKI treatment. However, we could not provide recommendations for the treatment of EGFR mutations with immune checkpoint inhibitors, including monotherapy, and its combination with cytotoxic chemotherapy, because of the limited evidence present in the literature. The 2020 Japanese Lung Cancer Society Guidelines can help community-based physicians to determine the most appropriate treatments and adequately provide medical care to their patients

Noninvasive Positive Pressure Ventilation in Treatment of Non-COPD Related Acute Respiratory Failure Cases

We used Noninvasive Positive Pressure Ventilation (NPPV) in nine patients with acute respiratory failure (ARF), not related to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). After separating the nine patients into a hypercapnic group (five patients) and a non-hypercapnic group (four patients), we investigated its effectiveness in physiological improvement and avoiding intubation. Dyspnea, physiological findings and ABG improved rapidly in both groups without serious adverse effects. The intubation avoidance rate was 66.7% (6 of 9) in total, and 80% in the hypercapnic group and 50% in the non-hypercapnic group. The ratio of PaO_2 to FiO_2 (P/F ratio) increased during NPPV in most cases where intubation could be avoided. It is worthwhile to use NPPV as a bridging therapy between O_2 therapy and invasive ventilation in patients with non-COPD related ARF, regardless of the existence of hypercapnia. Careful monitoring of the P/F ratio and complications is needed to make an appropriate decision whether avoiding intubation will be possible or not

Malignant Paraganglioma Arising from the Posterior Mediastinum : A Case Report and Review of the Literature

An unusual case of paraganglioma of posterior mediastinum occurred in a young adult with local recurrence and multiple distant metastasis. Because of its rarity, the determinants of prognosis factor between benign and malignant paraganglioma are uncertain. In this case, we investigated abnormalities of the p53 gene and ras gene mutations in tissues of primary and metastatic lesions. Neither abnormalities of p53 gene nor ras gene mutations were detected. The molecular approach is recommended as a means of clarifying the trend towards the malignancy of paraganglioma

Predicting osimertinib‐treatment outcomes through EGFR mutant‐fraction monitoring in the circulating tumor DNA of EGFR T790M‐positive patients with non‐small cell lung cancer (WJOG8815L)

The WJOG8815L phase II clinical study involves patients with non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that harbored the EGFR T790M mutation, which confers resistance to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). The purpose of this study was to assess the predictive value of monitoring EGFR genomic alterations in circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) from patients with NSCLC that undergo treatment with the third‐generation EGFR‐TKI osimertinib. Plasma samples of 52 patients harboring the EGFR T790M mutation were obtained pretreatment (Pre), on day 1 of treatment cycle 4 (C4) or cycle 9 (C9), and at diagnosis of disease progression or treatment discontinuation (PD/stop). CtDNA was screened for EGFR‐TKI‐sensitizing mutations, the EGFR T790M mutation, and other genomic alterations using the cobas EGFR Mutation Test v2 (cobas), droplet digital PCR (ddPCR), and targeted deep sequencing. Analysis of the sensitizing—and T790M—EGFR mutant fractions (MFs) was used to determine tumor mutational burden. Both MFs were found to decrease during treatment, whereas rebound of the sensitizing EGFR MF was observed at PD/stop, suggesting that osimertinib targeted both T790M mutation‐positive tumors and tumors with sensitizing EGFR mutations. Significant differences in the response rates and progression‐free survival were observed between the sensitizing EGFR MF‐high and sensitizing EGFR MF‐low groups (cutoff: median) at C4. In conclusion, ctDNA monitoring for sensitizing EGFR mutations at C4 is suitable for predicting the treatment outcomes in NSCLC patients receiving osimertinib (Clinical Trial Registration No.: UMIN000022076)