Factors associated with improvement in symptoms and quality of life for first-line EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitor treatment in patients with EGFR-mutated non-small-cell lung cancer - A multicenter prospective SMILE study

Introduction: Epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) are a standard first-line treatment for advanced EGFR-mutated NSCLC patients. Factors associated with symptoms and quality of life (QOL) improvements have not been investigated. Methods: We conducted a multicenter, prospective study to evaluate improvements in QOL and symptoms in NSCLC patients treated with first-line EGFR-TKIs. QOL was assessed using the instrument of Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Lung questionnaire (FACT-L) and Treatment Outcome Index (TOI). Assessment of symptoms was evaluated using the Lung cancer subscale (LCS). Results: Eligible subjects included 280 patients for endpoint analyses. The mean FACT-L score increased by 4.0 ± 15.56 at Week 2 (p