How Well Does Alectinib Control CNS Disease in Lung Cancer Patients?

Patients with ALK-positive non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are at high risk for brain metastases. To assess how well the second-generation ALK inhibitor alectinib improves central nervous system (CNS) penetrance and intracranial response, researchers pooled data from 136 crizotinib-pretreated ALK-positive NSCLC patients with baseline CNS metastases who had received alectinib (600 mg twice daily) in one of two single-arm phase II trials whose endpoints were independently assessed.

Among the 50 patients with baseline measurable CNS disease, the intracranial-response rate was 64%, the CNS disease-control rate was 90%, and the median duration of response was 10.8 months; 22% of patients had a complete response. Among all 136 patients, 43% had…