Safety and efficacy of alectinib versus crizotinib in alk-positive non-small cell lung cancer: An update meta-analysis.

Our study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of alectinib compared with crizotinib and provide a reference for clinical use of ALK-TKI, systematically. We searched articles published update till October, 2021 based on the electronic databases, including PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane Library. All trials analyzed the summary odds ratios (ORs) of the interesting outcomes. Three RCTs, including six studies were included. The pooled hazard ratio (HR) =0.33 (95%CI=0.21-0.51, P<0.00001) shown that the alectinib group achieved significant progress-free survival (PFS) superiority than crizotinib, consistent with those for the with (P=0.001) or without (P<0.00001) measurable CNS lesions at baseline. Also, the regimen of the alectinib did achieved benefit in the ORR (OR=2.07, 95% CI=1.41-3.06, P=0.0002) than crizotinib. Due to the limited data, the pool result of the difference of overall survival (OS) was without statistically significant (P=0.35). With regard to the safety, grade 3 to 5 adverse events were less frequent with alectinib than crizotinib (OR=0.53, 95% CI=0.31-0.90, P=0.02). As compared with crizotinib, alectinib demonstrated better PFS efficacy and comparable safety as a first-line treatment for advanced ALK-positive Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC). OS data remain immature, further trials with long-term survival rate have future to look forward to.