PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - RALPH L. MILLETT
AU  - JACOB M. ELKON
AU  - IMAD A. TABBARA
TI  - Directed Therapies in Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase-rearranged Non-small Cell Lung Cancer
AID  - 10.21873/anticanres.12815
DP  - 2018 Sep 01
TA  - Anticancer Research
PG  - 4969--4975
VI  - 38
IP  - 9
4099  - http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/38/9/4969.short
4100  - http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/38/9/4969.full
SO  - Anticancer Res2018 Sep 01; 38
AB  - Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) rearrangements were first implicated as driving mutations in non-small cell lung cancer in 2007. Since then, a number of novel, small-molecule inhibitors directed against the ALK receptor have demonstrated superiority over standard chemotherapies in the treatment of ALK rearrangement-positive lung cancer. Of considerable importance when considering such therapies is the ability of each to overcome mutations conferring acquired resistance, as well as penetrate the central nervous system (CNS), the most common site of metastasis and traditionally the most difficult to breach. Herein is a review of the efficacy, indications, and degree of CNS penetration for the ALK-targeting agents crizotinib, ceretinib, alectinib, brigatinib, and lorlatinib, as well as a summary of ongoing clinical trials comparing these drugs.