Overall survival among patients with de novo stage IV metastatic and distant metastatic recurrent non-small cell lung cancer

The survival profile of patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains poorly understood by metastatic disease type (ie de novo stage IV vs distant recurrence). In a cohort study of 660 participants, patients with distant recurrent NSCLC had significantly better overall survival than those with de novo disease. These results were validated in an independent cohort of 180 patients. The authors conclude that these findings suggest that metastatic disease type as a factor associated with outcomes should be considered in future clinical trial design to ensure a balance for baseline patient charactistics.