Safety and Tolerability of Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase Inhibitors in Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer.

The chimeric protein echinoderm microtubule-associated protein-like 4-anaplastic lymphoma kinase, resulting from the rearrangement of the homonym genes, is one of the currently targetable oncogenic drivers in anaplastic lymphoma kinase-positive non-small-cell lung cancer. In fact, four first- and second-generation anaplastic lymphoma kinase tyrosine kinase inhibitors, crizotinib (PF-02341066), ceritinib (LDK378), alectinib (CH5424802), and brigatinib (AP26113), are presently approved for clinical practice; however, these agents are not devoid of complications and thus should be administered meaningfully. Furthermore, third-generation inhibitors are currently under development to overcome acquired resistance mechanisms inevitably resulting from treatment with first- and second-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Therefore, this article aims to provide a comprehensive state-of-the-art review about the pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, safety, and tolerability profiles of currently available and promising under-development anaplastic lymphoma kinase tyrosine kinase inhibitors.