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EML4-ALK, a potential therapeutic target that responds to alectinib in ovarian cancer

Beina Hui1, Jingping Zhang2, Xiaobo Shi1

  • 1Department of Radiation Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.

Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology
|August 27, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK+) positive ovarian cancer patients may benefit from targeted therapy. A patient with metastatic high-grade serous ovarian cancer showed significant improvement with the ALK inhibitor alectinib.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Genetics
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Ovarian cancer frequently recurs and develops chemotherapy resistance.
  • A subset of ovarian tumors express the anaplastic lymphoma kinase fusion gene (ALK+).
  • Preclinical data suggest ALK inhibitors can impede ovarian cancer cell and tumor growth.

Observation:

  • This report details a patient with metastatic, ALK-positive, high-grade serous ovarian cancer.
  • The patient's tumor tested positive for the EML4-ALK gene fusion.
  • The patient received the ALK inhibitor alectinib.

Findings:

  • The patient experienced a dramatic clinical benefit from alectinib treatment.
  • This represents the first clinical evidence of alectinib's efficacy in this specific patient subgroup.
  • EML4-ALK positivity is a potential predictive biomarker for alectinib response in ovarian cancer.

Implications:

  • Alectinib may offer a personalized treatment strategy for patients with EML4-ALK positive ovarian cancer.
  • This finding highlights the potential of targeted therapy in managing recurrent or resistant ovarian cancer.
  • Further clinical investigation is warranted to confirm alectinib's role in ALK-positive ovarian cancer treatment.
Keywords:
EML4-ALK fusion genealectinibnext generation sequencingovarian cancertargeted therapy

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