Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
Curr Oncol Rep. 2012 Apr;14(2):105-10. doi: 10.1007/s11912-012-0213-4.
The anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) acts as a dominant oncogenic driver following chromosomal rearrangements in certain cancers including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). NSCLC with ALK translocation occurs in a specific subset of patients and results in unique clinical features. Crizotinib is a small molecule inhibitor of ALK kinase that has recently been approved by the FDA for the treatment of patients with ALK-positive NSCLC. Treatment with crizotinib results in clinical benefit rate of 85%-90% and a median progression-free survival of 9-10 months for this molecular subset of patients. Ongoing studies will define the impact of crizotinib on overall survival and provide insights into the resistance mechanisms and potential activation of alternate pathways. Heat shock protein 90 inhibitors also appear promising in the treatment of ALK-positive NSCLC patients, based on early results. This article reviews the characteristics, treatment, and ongoing research in patients with ALK-positive NSCLC.
间变性淋巴瘤激酶 (ALK) 在某些癌症中，包括非小细胞肺癌 (NSCLC)，染色体重排后作为一个主要的致癌驱动因素。ALK 易位的 NSCLC 发生在特定的患者亚群中，并导致独特的临床特征。克唑替尼是一种 ALK 激酶的小分子抑制剂，最近已被 FDA 批准用于治疗 ALK 阳性 NSCLC 患者。克唑替尼治疗的临床受益率为 85%-90%，这一分子亚群患者的中位无进展生存期为 9-10 个月。正在进行的研究将确定克唑替尼对总生存期的影响，并深入了解耐药机制和潜在的替代途径的激活。基于早期结果，热休克蛋白 90 抑制剂在治疗 ALK 阳性 NSCLC 患者方面也显示出前景。本文综述了 ALK 阳性 NSCLC 患者的特征、治疗和正在进行的研究。
