New! Sign up for our free email newsletter.
Science News
from research organizations

Alectinib halts lung cancer growth more than a year longer than crizotinib

Date:
June 5, 2017
Source:
American Society of Clinical Oncology
Summary:
Findings from a phase III clinical trial point to a more effective initial treatment for patients with ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Compared to the current standard of care crizotinib (Xalkori), the newer ALK inhibitor alectinib (Alecensa) halted cancer growth for a median of 15 months longer and caused fewer severe side effects.
Share:
FULL STORY

Findings from a phase III clinical trial point to a more effective initial treatment for patients with ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Compared to the current standard of care crizotinib (Xalkori), the newer ALK inhibitor alectinib (Alecensa) halted cancer growth for a median of 15 months longer and caused fewer severe side effects.

The study will be featured in a press briefing today and presented at the 2017 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting.

"This is the first global study to compare alectinib with crizotinib in ALK-positive lung cancer and establishes alectinib as the new standard of care for initial treatment in this setting," said lead study author Alice T. Shaw, MD, PhD, Director of Thoracic Oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center in Boston, MA. "Alectinib was especially beneficial in controlling and preventing brain metastases, which can have a major impact on patients' quality of life."

About 5% of NSCLCs are ALK-positive, meaning they have a genetic rearrangement where the ALK gene is fused with another gene. In the United States, about 12,500 people are diagnosed with ALK-positive NSCLC each year.

Crizotinib, the first medicine to specifically target ALK, was approved by the FDA in 2011. Although the majority of patients initially benefit from crizotinib, the cancer typically starts growing again within a year. Alectinib is a more potent, next-generation inhibitor of ALK. It was initially approved in 2015 for use in patients with advanced NSCLC that worsens despite crizotinib.


Story Source:

Materials provided by American Society of Clinical Oncology. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Cite This Page:

American Society of Clinical Oncology. "Alectinib halts lung cancer growth more than a year longer than crizotinib." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 5 June 2017. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/06/170605110043.htm>.
American Society of Clinical Oncology. (2017, June 5). Alectinib halts lung cancer growth more than a year longer than crizotinib. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 15, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/06/170605110043.htm
American Society of Clinical Oncology. "Alectinib halts lung cancer growth more than a year longer than crizotinib." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/06/170605110043.htm (accessed October 15, 2024).

Explore More

from ScienceDaily

RELATED STORIES