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Crizotinib

David F Heigener1, Martin Reck

  • 1Department of Thoracic Oncology, LungenClinic Grosshansdorf, Grosshansdorf, Germany, D.heigener@lungenclinic.de.

Recent Results in Cancer Research. Fortschritte Der Krebsforschung. Progres Dans Les Recherches Sur Le Cancer
|April 24, 2014
PubMed

Insights

Crizotinib effectively treats non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with ALK or ROS1 rearrangements. Molecular typing is crucial for identifying patients who will benefit from this targeted therapy.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Pharmacology
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Crizotinib targets receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) including anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), ROS1, and c-Met.
  • Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with EML4-ALK rearrangements shows high response rates to crizotinib.
  • ALK and ROS1 rearrangements are present in a small percentage of NSCLC cases (3-5% and ~1%, respectively).

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the efficacy of crizotinib in NSCLC patients with specific genetic alterations.
  • To determine the clinical utility of molecular profiling in NSCLC treatment selection.
  • To assess the role of crizotinib in c-Met altered cancers.

Main Methods:

  • Clinical evidence review for crizotinib effectiveness in ALK-rearranged NSCLC.
  • Analysis of response rates in NSCLC with ROS1 rearrangements.
  • Investigation into the diagnostic role of Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH) for ALK rearrangements.

Main Results:

  • Crizotinib demonstrates impressive response rates in NSCLC harboring EML4-ALK rearrangements.
  • Similar efficacy is observed in NSCLC with ROS1 rearrangements.
  • FISH testing on tumor tissue is essential for predicting crizotinib efficacy in ALK-positive NSCLC.

Conclusions:

  • Crizotinib is an effective targeted therapy for ALK- and ROS1-positive NSCLC.
  • Molecular typing of NSCLC is critical for identifying patients eligible for targeted treatments.
  • Further research is needed to define crizotinib's role in c-Met altered malignancies.

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