Erlotinib as a salvage treatment after gefitinib failure for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer patients with brain metastasis: A successful case report and review

RATIONALE: The guidelines recommended gefitinib as a first-line targeted treatment for stage IV non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with EGFR mutations. However, resistance to gefitinib ensues invariably and there is little evidence as for the effectiveness of subsequent salvage treatment for patients without T790m mutation. The case is to evaluate the efficacy of erlotinib, another EGFR-TKI, after failed first-line use of gefitinib. PATIENT CONCERNS: We described a 55-year-old man with good performance status (PS). DIAGNOSES: He was histopathologically diagnosed stage IV lung adenocarcinoma with EGFR mutations in November 2018. INTERVENTIONS: He was administrated with gefitinib daily (250 mg) for activating epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations (exon 19 deletions,19del), and combined with platinum-based dual-drug chemotherapy. During the target treatments, the optimal efficacy evaluation was partial remission (PR) with a 12-month progression-free survival (PFS) time. Later, the intracranial progression of the patient rendered the treatment change to erlotinib. OUTCOMES: It is surprising that the tumor lesion in brain as well as lung relieved obviously. His progression-free survival (PFS)was nearly 11 months, and the overall survival (OS)was>36 months up to now. The adverse events were tolerable. LESSIONS: This case manifests that re-biopsy of advanced or recurrent NSCLC is beneficial to make a better therapeutic regimen, and erlotinib can be used as a salvage treatment after gefitinib failure.