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Published on: February 12, 2017

Crizotinib in the treatment of non--small-cell lung cancer

Sacha I Rothschild1, Oliver Gautschi

  • 1Department Internal Medicine, Medical Oncology, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland. sacha.rothschild@usb.ch

Clinical Lung Cancer
|June 25, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Crizotinib effectively treats advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) or ROS1 rearrangements. Clinical trials demonstrate its superiority over chemotherapy for ALK-positive NSCLC.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) translocations occur in about 5% of non-small-cell lung cancers (NSCLCs).
  • Activated ALK tyrosine kinase drives tumor growth in a subset of NSCLC patients.
  • ROS1 rearrangements are also implicated in NSCLC pathogenesis.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To provide an overview of the molecular basis of ALK-rearranged NSCLC.
  • To review the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of crizotinib.
  • To summarize clinical trial data for crizotinib in ALK-rearranged NSCLC.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature on ALK and ROS1 in NSCLC.
  • Analysis of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic data for crizotinib.
  • Summary of results from phase III clinical trials comparing crizotinib to chemotherapy.

Main Results:

  • Crizotinib is an approved oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor targeting ALK and ROS1.
  • Phase III trials show crizotinib is superior to standard chemotherapy in second-line treatment for ALK-positive NSCLC.
  • Crizotinib demonstrates activity in ROS1-rearranged NSCLC.

Conclusions:

  • Crizotinib represents a significant advancement in targeted therapy for specific NSCLC subtypes.
  • Understanding ALK and ROS1 rearrangements is crucial for selecting appropriate patients for crizotinib treatment.
  • Further research into targeted therapies for NSCLC continues to evolve.
Keywords:
Anaplastic lymphoma kinaseEML4-ALKROS1Targeted therapyTyrosine kinase inhibitor

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