Dramatic response to alectinib in a patient with ALK-rearranged squamous cell lung cancer.

Abstract

Lung cancers with anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) rearrangements are highly sensitive to treatment with ALK tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Due to the very low rate of patients with squamous cell carcinoma enrolled in clinical trials, the efficacy of ALK inhibitors in patients with ALK-rearranged squamous cell carcinoma in the lung remains unclear. Herein, we present the case of a 70-year-old female patient with squamous cell lung cancer harboring the echinoderm microtubule-associated protein-like 4 (EML4)-ALK fusion gene. The patient was treated with the ALK-TKI alectinib as first-line regimen and achieved a dramatic response without severe adverse events, demonstrating alectinib as a therapeutic option for patients with ALK-positive squamous cell carcinoma.

• Authors: Jun Shiihara, Fumiyoshi Ohyanagi, Hikari Amari, Minemichi Toda, Hiroki Tahara, Motoi Yuzawa, Yuki Maeda, Motoko Nomura, Yoshiko Mizushina, Yoshiaki Nagai, Hiromitsu Ohta, Yasuhiro Yamaguchi
• Journal: Thoracic cancer (Thorac Cancer) Vol. 12 Issue 17 Pg. 2420-2423 (09 2021) ISSN: 1759-7714 [Electronic] Singapore
• PMID: 34324792 (Publication Type: Case Reports)
• Copyright: © 2021 The Authors. Thoracic Cancer published by China Lung Oncology Group and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Chemical References

• Carbazoles
• Piperidines
• Protein Kinase Inhibitors
• ALK protein, human
• Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase
• alectinib

Topics

• Aged
• Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase (genetics)
• Carbazoles (therapeutic use)
• Carcinoma, Squamous Cell (drug therapy, genetics, pathology)
• Female
• Gene Rearrangement
• Humans
• Lung Neoplasms (drug therapy, genetics, pathology)
• Piperidines (therapeutic use)
• Protein Kinase Inhibitors (therapeutic use)