Screening for ALK Rearrangements in Lung Cancer: Time for a New Generation of Diagnostics?

A study reported in this issue of The Oncologist examined the utility of next-generation sequencing (NGS) in detecting ALK rearrangements. NGS may one day become the standard initial test for molecular genotyping of patients with advanced cancers, and this new generation of ALK diagnostics is a welcome addition to the current screening repertoire

Avelumab in Combination With Lorlatinib or Crizotinib in Patients With Previously Treated Advanced NSCLC: Phase 1b/2 Results From the JAVELIN Lung 101 Trial

Avelumab; Crizotinib; Non–small cell lung cancerAvelumab; Crizotinib; Cáncer de pulmón de células no pequeñasAvelumab; Crizotinib; Càncer de pulmó de cèl·lules no petitesIntroduction The JAVELIN Lung 101 phase 1b/2 trial evaluated avelumab (immune checkpoint inhibitor) combined with lorlatinib or crizotinib (tyrosine kinase inhibitors) in ALK-positive or ALK-negative advanced NSCLC, respectively. Methods Starting doses of lorlatinib 100 mg once daily or crizotinib 250 mg twice daily were administered with avelumab 10 mg/kg every 2 weeks. Primary objectives were assessment of maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and recommended phase 2 dose in phase 1 and objective response rate in phase 2. Primary end points were dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) and confirmed objective response per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors, version 1.1. Results In the avelumab plus lorlatinib group (ALK-positive; n = 31; 28 in phase 1b; three in phase 2), two of 28 assessable patients (7%) had DLT, and the MTD and recommended phase 2 dose was avelumab 10 mg/kg every 2 weeks plus lorlatinib 100 mg once daily. In the avelumab plus crizotinib group (ALK-negative; n = 12; all phase 1b), five of 12 assessable patients (42%) had DLT, and the MTD was exceeded with avelumab 10 mg/kg every 2 weeks plus crizotinib 250 mg twice daily; alternative crizotinib doses were not assessed. Objective response rate was 52% (95% confidence interval, 33%–70%) with avelumab plus lorlatinib (complete response, 3%; partial response, 48%) and 25% (95% confidence interval, 6%–57%) with avelumab plus crizotinib (all partial responses). Conclusions Avelumab plus lorlatinib treatment in ALK-positive NSCLC was feasible, but avelumab plus crizotinib treatment in ALK-negative NSCLC could not be administered at the doses tested. No evidence of increased antitumor activity was observed in either group. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT02584634This trial was sponsored by Pfizer and was previously conducted under an alliance between the healthcare business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany (CrossRef Funder ID: 10.13039/100009945), and Pfizer. Medical writing support was provided by Hiba Al-Ashtal of Nucleus Global and was funded by the healthcare business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, and Pfizer. The authors thank the patients and their families, investigators, co-investigators, and the study teams at each of the participating centers

Primary Resistance to Larotrectinib in a Patient With Squamous NSCLC With Subclonal NTRK1 Fusion: Case Report

The NTRK genes encode the TRK proteins. NTRK fusions lead to constitutively active, ligand-independent downstream signaling. NTRK fusions are implicated in up to 1% of all solid tumors and 0.2% of NSCLC. Larotrectinib, a highly selective small molecule inhibitor of all three TRK proteins, has a response rate of 75% across a wide range of solid tumors. Mechanisms of primary resistance to larotrectinib are not well understood. We report a case of a 75-year-old male with minimal smoking history with NTRK fusion-positive metastatic squamous NSCLC with primary resistance to larotrectinib. We suggest subclonal NTRK fusion as a possible mechanism contributing to primary resistance to larotrectinib