Outcome of crizotinib treatment in a young woman with heavily pretreated ROS1-positive lung cancer

Tumori. 2015 Jun 25;101(3):e103-6. doi: 10.5301/tj.5000288.

Abstract

Non-small-cell lung cancer is a term that encompasses a number of subtypes of lung cancer. In recent years, several intracellular pathways have been studied in order to discover a potential target for novel anticancer therapies such as anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) and reactive oxygen species 1 (ROS1). Increased interest in oncologic treatment research has resulted from the observation that ALK- and ROS1-associated tyrosine kinases show molecular analogies in some of their domains. This discovery led to the hypothesis that target therapy against ALK translocation could have efficacy also in ROS1-positive tumors. Crizotinib is an oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor that binds the ALK tyrosine kinase domain, blocking its function. We report the case of a woman with heavily pretreated metastatic lung adenocarcinoma harboring ROS1 positivity who experienced a prolonged and dramatic clinical benefit from crizotinib therapy.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adenocarcinoma / chemistry
  • Adenocarcinoma / drug therapy*
  • Adenocarcinoma of Lung
  • Adult
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / analysis*
  • Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / drug therapy
  • Crizotinib
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Immunohistochemistry
  • Lung Neoplasms / chemistry
  • Lung Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors / therapeutic use*
  • Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / analysis
  • Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins / analysis*
  • Pyrazoles / therapeutic use*
  • Pyridines / therapeutic use*
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Biomarkers, Tumor
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins
  • Pyrazoles
  • Pyridines
  • Crizotinib
  • Protein-Tyrosine Kinases
  • ROS1 protein, human