EFFICACY AND SAFETY OF ALECTINIB IN PATIENTS WITH ADVANCED ALK-POSITIVE NON-SMALL CELL LUNG CANCER: DATA FROM THE ALEX CLINICAL TRIAL

Abstract

Targeted therapy has significantly improved the survival and quality of life of patients with NSCLC. Alectinib, a highly selective inhibitor of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), has shown systemic and central nervous system (CNS) efficacy in the treatment of advanced ALK-positive non-small-cell lung cancer. ALEX was the first global phase III head-to-head comparison of two ALK inhibitors (alectinib and crizotinib) in the first-line setting. ALEX was the first trial to directly compare two ALK inhibitors in the first-line setting of advanced ALK-positive NSCLC patients. Follow-up results from the ALEX study continue to support alectinib as the first-line, preferred standard of care for patients with previously untreated, advanced ALK-positive NSCLC.