Does the Waiting Period for Genetic Tests Affect the Prognosis in Chemotherapy-Treated de novo Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients without a Driver Mutation?

INTRODUCTION The length of the necessary waiting period to test driver mutations may generate anxiety in patients and clinicians. For this reason, an investigation was conducted to determine whether the duration between diagnosis and the start of first-line chemotherapy (DDC) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients without driver mutations has an impact on prognosis. METHODS The study included 303 de novo metastatic NSCLC patients without a driver mutation and patients were divided into 2 groups according to DDC: ≤30 days (group A) or >30 days (group B). The determinant factors for progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were examined by Cox regression analysis. RESULTS The mean DDC was calculated as 38.2 ± 54.5 days. The number of patients in group A and B were 183 and 120, respectively. The median PFS in groups A and B was 5.0 and 6.0 months (p = 0.268) and the median OS was 10.0 and 11 months, respectively (p = 0.341). Univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that DDC was not a factor associated with PFS and OS. CONCLUSION Our results show that a higher DDC was not associated with a worse prognosis in metastatic NSCLC patients without driver mutations. In this context, it is safer for patients and their physicians to wait for test results before starting chemotherapy.