ALK Mutation Status Before and After Alectinib Treatment in Locally Advanced or Metastatic ALK-Positive NSCLC: Pooled Analysis of Two Prospective Trials

Introduction: The effectiveness of ALK receptor tyrosine kinase (ALK) inhibitors can be limited by the development of ALK resistance mutations. This exploratory analysis assessed the efficacy of alectinib in patients with NSCLC and ALK point mutations using pooled data from two single-arm phase II studies. Conclusions: Alectinib appears clinically active against ALK rearrangements and mutations, as well as several ALK variants that can cause resistance to crizotinib. The use of cell-free DNA in plasma samples may be an alternative noninvasive method for monitoring resistance mutations during therapy. READ ARTICLE

Journal of Thoracic Oncology DOI:10.1016/j.jtho.2019.10.015

Authors: Johannes Noé, Alex Lovejoy, Sai-Hong Ignatius Ou, Stephanie J. Yaung, Walter Bordogna, Daniel M. Klass, Craig A. Cummings, Alice T. Shaw