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Recurrence of lung cancer while on Tagrisso & restarting Tagrisso

Posted by mariabk @mariabk, 3 days ago

Hello,
I am 60 and had stage 1B lung cancer in the fall of 2023 when I had a left lower lung lobectomy. After four sessions of chemotherapy I was placed on Tagrisso in February 2024. I was taken off of it in December 2024 because I developed an MAC infection and at first they were unsure if it was a recurrence of cancer. If the MAC infection clears, I’m considering asking to go back on the Tagrisso . I had a few side effects, but nothing terrible.

Has anyone stopped and re-started Tagrisso for any reason?
Thanks!

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Matthew K | @flusshund | 2 days ago

@mariabk, Stage 1 means you only have 1 tumor or cyst. I don't know that Tagrisso has been approved at all for that case. Oncologists don't mindlessly follow whatever the latest study says, but they also use their experience to guide their intuition. That may be why your oncologist prescribed Tagrisso in the first place as a "just in case" measure - the idea being that you may have a few cancer cells somewhere else that simply haven't grown enough to be noticeable yet.

For what it's worth, I was diagnosed at stage 2b when I was 58. At that time (2018) Tagrisso was not a first-line treatment for stage 2b, so I had chemo and radiation after my upper right lobectomy. I didn't start Tagrisso until late 2020, two and a half years after my initial diagnosis, after my EGFR Exon 19 mutation had metastasized to my brain. Following the lobectomy, I have never had any recurrence below my neck. My oncologist feels that the initial lobectomy, chemo, and radiation eliminated the cancer from my lungs. However, I still get an abdomen and chest CAT scan every three months.

Before you ask, yes, lung cancer can metastasize to the brain, but it's not common enough to include an annual brain MRI as part of the standard of care. I asked.

As a direct answer to your question, since I started Tagrisso in December 2020, I have not stopped. Hopefully, the lobectomy eliminated all of the cancer that was in your body. How often are you being tested? I wish you all the best and a long, happy, cancer-free life!

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1 reply
mariabk | @mariabk | 2 days ago
In reply to @flusshund "@mariabk, Stage 1 means you only have 1 tumor or cyst. I don't know that Tagrisso..." + (show)
@flusshund

@mariabk, Stage 1 means you only have 1 tumor or cyst. I don't know that Tagrisso has been approved at all for that case. Oncologists don't mindlessly follow whatever the latest study says, but they also use their experience to guide their intuition. That may be why your oncologist prescribed Tagrisso in the first place as a "just in case" measure - the idea being that you may have a few cancer cells somewhere else that simply haven't grown enough to be noticeable yet.

For what it's worth, I was diagnosed at stage 2b when I was 58. At that time (2018) Tagrisso was not a first-line treatment for stage 2b, so I had chemo and radiation after my upper right lobectomy. I didn't start Tagrisso until late 2020, two and a half years after my initial diagnosis, after my EGFR Exon 19 mutation had metastasized to my brain. Following the lobectomy, I have never had any recurrence below my neck. My oncologist feels that the initial lobectomy, chemo, and radiation eliminated the cancer from my lungs. However, I still get an abdomen and chest CAT scan every three months.

Before you ask, yes, lung cancer can metastasize to the brain, but it's not common enough to include an annual brain MRI as part of the standard of care. I asked.

As a direct answer to your question, since I started Tagrisso in December 2020, I have not stopped. Hopefully, the lobectomy eliminated all of the cancer that was in your body. How often are you being tested? I wish you all the best and a long, happy, cancer-free life!

Jump to this post

After my chemotherapy ended in February 24, I was tested after three months and when I got the all clear, there was a six month spread when another large mass appeared this time in my upper left lung. But after investigation, it turned out to be the MAC infection and not cancer. Right now due to the MAC infection I’m being tested every three months. My next scan is in September and if I continue to improve, then I’m not sure what the next step will be.

I saw three oncologist after my biopsies came back after the lobectomy and two out of the three said chemotherapy and then Tagrisso was the proper course of action for stage one B. One oncologist was inclined to not do anything but just follow up for testing, but I couldn’t wrap my head around that felt if the cancer had ever come back. I wouldn’t have done everything I could have.

I did only have one mass and no impacted lymph nodes per my biopsies and Pet Scan

Thank you for your feedback! Best wishes to you for good health moving forward! Maria

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