Clinical challenges in targeting anaplastic lymphoma kinase in advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

ABSTRACT: The revolution in individualized therapy for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has seen the emergence of a number of molecularly targeted therapies for distinct patient molecular subgroups. Activating anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-gene rearrangement has been detected in 3-7 % of NSCLC cases, and the ALK inhibitor crizotinib is now an approved treatment for patients with tumors harboring this event. However, resistance to ALK-targeted therapies is a ubiquitous problem in the management of advanced ALK-positive NSCLC and can be mediated by secondary kinase mutations or the activation of compensatory alternative oncogenic drivers. New, more potent ALK inhibitors such as ceritinib (LDK378), alectinib (CH5424802), and AP26113 are now emerging, together with an increas

SUBMITTER: Vijayvergia N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5627646 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature