Intracavitary chemotherapy with epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI) is not superior to TKI monotherapy in controlling malignant pleural effusion recurrence in EGFR-mutated lung cancer patients

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients benefit from EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) therapy. There are few studies comparing the efficacy between intrapleural chemotherapy combination with TKIs and TKIs alone in controlling re-accumulation of malignant pleural effusions (MPEs). The purpose of the study was to determine if patients with EGFR-mutated NSCLC and MPEs would benefit from intrapleural chemotherapeutics with an oral EGFR-TKI than EGFR-TKI alone.