Tumor immune microenvironment in non-small cell lung cancer with EGFR mutation before and after EGFR-TKIs treatment

Lung cancer is the most common cancer and a leading cause of death from cancer in men and women in the world. Epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) are considered as the first-line treatment of EGFR mutated NSCLC. However, almost all patients eventually develop acquired resistance to EGFR-TKIs, with a median PFS of 9-14 months. With the development of immunotherapy, people realize that the interaction between tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) and tumor cells can also affect EGFR-TKIs treatment. TIME contains a variety of elements and previous researches of TIME in EGFR-TKIs therapy on NSCLC are decentralized. Here, we review the characteristics of TIME in NSCLC from EGFR-TKIs therapy and its role in TKIs resistance.