The Efficacy and Safety of Afatinib in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients with Brain Metastasis: A Meta-Analysis

AIM: The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of afatinib in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with brain metastasis based on meta-analysis. METHODS: Related literatures were searched in the following databases: EMbase, PubMed, China Knowledge Network (CNKI), Wanfang, Weipu, Google Scholar, the China Biomedical Literature Service System, and other databases. Clinical trials and observational studies that met the requirements were selected for meta-analysis using Revman 5.3. The hazard ratio (HR) was used as an indicator of the impact of afatinib. RESULTS: A total of 142 related literatures were acquired, but after screening, five literatures were selected for data extraction. The following indices were compared: the progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and common adverse reactions (ARs) of grade 3 and above. A total of 448 patients with brain metastases were included and were divided into two groups: the control group (no afatinib treatment, with chemotherapy alone and the first-generation EGFR-TKIs) and the afatinib group. The results showed that afatinib could improve PFS (HR: 0.58, 95% CI: 0.39–0.85, P < 0.05) and ORR (OR = 2.86, 95% CI: 1.45–2.57, P < 0.05), but had no benefit on OS (HR: 1.13, 95% CI: 0.15–8.75, P > 0.05) and DCR (OR = 2.87, 95% CI: 0.97–8.48, P > 0.05). For the safety of afatinib, the incidence of grade-3-and-above ARs was low (HR: 0.01, 95% CI: 0.00–0.02, P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Afatinib improves the survival of NSCLC patients with brain metastases and shows satisfactory safety.