EGFR mutation status and brain metastases in non-small cell lung cancer: an understudied problem

Metastases to the central nervous system (CNS) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) often herald a poor prognosis and a significant decrement in quality of life. Despite the substantial number of NSCLC patients who develop CNS metastases, there are few trials specifically addressing outcomes in these patients (1); many NSCLC trials studying systemic treatment exclude patients with active brain metastases. Dr. Welsh and colleagues recently published an article addressing this understudied population. They enrolled 40 NSCLC patients with brain metastases who went on to receive WBRT with concurrent administration of the epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI), erlotinib (2). © 2011 - 2016 Translational Cancer Research.