克唑替尼治疗 ALK 融合基因阳性的晚期非小细胞肺癌患者的疗效分析

目的：探讨克唑替尼治疗中国 ALK 融合基因阳性的非小细胞肺癌（NSCLC）患者的疗效和安全性。方法14名患者接受至少4周的克唑替尼（250 mg,q12h）治疗,以评价治疗后的近期疗效、生活质量、不良反应。结果12例患者口服克唑替尼治疗后,11例（91.67%）获得部分缓解,1例（8.33%）获得疾病稳定,客观缓解率为91.67%;在生活质量评估中,患者的疲乏、气短、睡眠等均得到改善;不良反应主要为消化道症状,其次是谷丙转氨酶升高（64.29%）,视觉障碍（57.14%）,大部分为1～2级。结论克唑替尼作为 ALK 融合基因阳性的 NSCLC 患者的靶向治疗,具有良好的疗效及安全性,不良反应轻微。     

Capture-based ultra-deep sequencing in plasma ctDNA reveals the resistance mechanism of ALK inhibitors in a patient with advanced ALK-positive NSCLC

Background: Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) is a validated molecular target in non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the clinical benefits of ALK inhibitors are almost universally limited by the emergence of drug resistance.

Methods: We monitored the plasma circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) using captured-based ultra-deep sequencing analysis of one patient with metastatic ALK-positive NSCLC who had received therapies including first-, second- and third-generation ALK inhibitors. Functional in vitro studies were further undertaken to elucidate the mechanism of resistance.

Results: ALK T1151Sins mutation was detected when the patient developed resistance to ceritinib, and undetectable when she responded to lorlatinib. MET amplification was present when the tumor developed resistance to lorlatinib, and reduced when the patient received combination therapy of lorlatinib with crizotinib, which corresponded to clinical radiologic responses. In addition, further functional in vitro studies demonstrated that ALK harboring the T1151Sins mutation, while conferring resistance to ceritinib, was inhibited by lorlatinib.

Conclusions: Clinical evidence and in vitro validation revealed the clinical usefulness of captured-base ultra-deep sequencing on longitudinal plasma ctDNA in revealing the underlying resistance mechanism and guiding the precise administration of ALK inhibitors in patients with advanced ALK-positive NSCLC.     

Correlation of extent of ALK FISH positivity and crizotinib efficacy in three prospective studies of ALK-positive patients with non-small-cell lung cancer

BackgroundIn clinical trials of patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with crizotinib, evaluation of the relationship between the percentage of ALK-positive cells by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH)—particularly near the cut-off defining positive status—and clinical outcomes have been limited by small sample sizes.Patients and methodsData were pooled from three large prospective trials (one single-arm and two randomized versus chemotherapy) of crizotinib in patients with ALK-positive NSCLC determined by Vysis ALK Break Apart FISH using a cut-off of ≥15% ALK-positive cells. Logistic regression and proportional hazards regression analyses were used to explore the association of percent ALK-positive cells with objective response and progression-free survival (PFS), respectively.ResultsOf 11 081 screened patients, 1958 (18%) were ALK positive, 7512 (68%) were ALK negative, and 1540 (14%) were uninformative. Median percentage of ALK-positive cells was 58% in ALK-positive patients and 2% in ALK-negative patients. Of ALK-positive patients, 5% had 15%–19% ALK-positive cells; of ALK-negative patients, 2% had 10%–14% ALK-positive cells. Objective response rate for ALK-positive, crizotinib-treated patients with ≥20% ALK-positive cells was 56% (n = 700/1246), 55% (n = 725/1312) for those with ≥15% ALK-positive cells, and 38% for those with 15%–19% ALK-positive cells (n = 25/66). As a continuous variable, higher percentages of ALK-positive cells were estimated to be associated with larger differences in objective response and PFS between crizotinib and chemotherapy; however, tests for interaction between treatment and percentage of ALK-positive cells were not significant (objective response, P = 0.054; PFS, P = 0.17).ConclusionsPatients with ALK-positive NSCLC benefit from treatment with crizotinib across the full range of percentage of ALK-positive cells, supporting the clinical utility of the 15% cut-off. The small number of patients with scores near the cut-off warrant additional study given the potential for misclassification of ALK status due to technical or biologic reasons.     

克唑替尼与化疗治疗ALK阳性晚期非小细胞肺癌的疗效比较

目的探讨克唑替尼和化疗在治疗间变性淋巴瘤激酶(ALK)阳性晚期非小细胞肺癌(NSCLC)患者中的临床疗效。方法选取2014年4月至2015年10月间内蒙古医科大学附属医院收治的50例NSCLC患者的临床资料,采用随机数字表法分为观察组与对照组,每组25例。观察组患者采用克唑替尼治疗,对照组患者采用多西他赛治疗。比较两组患者的临床疗效、生存质量、生存情况及不良反应。结果治疗后,观察组患者的临床疗效和卡氏(KPS)生存质量情况明显较对照组好,差异均有统计学意义(均P<0.01)。治疗前,两组患者的进展生存期(PFS)及总生存期(OS)评分比较,差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。治疗后,观察组患者的PFS及OS评分均高于对照组,且两组患者的PFS及OS评分均较同组治疗前高,差异均有统计学意义(均P<0.05)。两组患者不良反应发生率比较,差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。结论与常规化疗法相比,克唑替尼治疗ALK阳性晚期NSCLC患者疗效更佳,可延长患者的PFS及OS,提升患者生活质量,值得推广。     

T790M mutation is associated with better efficacy of treatment beyond progression with EGFR-TKI in advanced NSCLC patients

Background and purpose

Continuous EGFR-TKI treatment beyond progression has shown promising benefit for some patients with acquired resistance to EGFR-TKIs. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of secondary T790M mutation at the time of progression with the efficacy of EGFR-TKI treatment beyond progression.

Methods

From March 2011 to March 2013, patients with advanced NSCLC who developed acquired resistance to EGFR-TKI and where a re-biopsy was performed at Tongji University Cancer Institute were included into this study. Scorpion ARMS was used to detect EGFR mutation status.

Results

A total of 54 patients were enrolled in this study with a median progression-free survival time (PFS1) of 10.9 months according to RECIST criteria. In all, 53.7% (29/54) had T790M mutation after the failure of EGFR-TKIs; PFS1 was not statistically significantly different between patients with T790M mutation and without (13.0 vs. 10.5 months, p = 0.894). In all, 41 patients received TKI treatment beyond progression, including 22 with local progression to receive additional local therapy and 19 with gradual progression to receive additional chemotherapy. The median progression-free survival time (PFS2) of patients who received EGFR-TKI beyond progression treatment was 3.5 months (95% CI, 2.689–4.311). Patients with T790M mutation had significantly longer PFS2 (6.3 vs. 2.6 months, p = 0.002) and overall survival (39.8 vs. 23.2 months, p = 0.044) than those without.

Conclusion

Patients with secondary T790M mutation at the time of progression having gradual or local progression after acquired resistance to EGFR-TKI benefit more from EGFR-TKI treatment beyond progression compared to those without T790M mutation.     

ALK inhibitors in the treatment of advanced NSCLC

Pharmacologic agents that target protein products of oncogenes in tumors are playing an increasing clinical role in the treatment of cancer. Currently, the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) represent the standard of care for patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring activating EGFR mutations. Subsequently other genetic abnormalities with “driver” characteristics – implying transforming and tumor maintenance capabilities have been extensively reported in several small distinct subsets of NSCLC. Among these rare genetic changes, anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene rearrangements, most often consisting in a chromosome 2 inversion leading to a fusion with the echinoderm microtubule-associated protein like 4 (EML4) gene, results in the abnormal expression and activation of this tyrosine kinase in the cytoplasm of cancer cells. This rearrangement occurs in 2–5% of NSCLC, predominantly in young (50 years or younger), never- or former-smokers with adenocarcinoma. This aberration most commonly occurs a independently of EGFR and KRAS gene mutations. A fluorescent in situ hybridization assay was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as the standard method for the detection of ALK gene rearrangement in clinical practice and is considered the gold standard. Crizotinib, a first-in-class dual ALK and c-MET inhibitor, has been shown to be particularly effective against ALK positive NSCLC, showing dramatic and prolonged responses with low toxicity, predominantly restricted to the gastro-intestinal and visual systems, and generally self-limiting or easily managed. However, resistance to crizotinib inevitably emerges. The molecular mechanisms of resistance are currently under investigation, as are therapeutic approaches including crizotinib-based combination therapy and novel agents such as Hsp90 inhibitors. This review aims to present the current knowledge on this fusion gene, the clinic-pathological profile of ALK rearranged NSCLC, and to review the existing literature on ALK inhibitors, focusing on their role in the treatment of NSCLC.     

克唑替尼在ALK阳性晚期NSCLC患者中的疗效和安全性评价及其预后影响因素

目的 探讨克唑替尼在间变性淋巴瘤激酶(ALK)阳性晚期非小细胞肺癌(NSCLC)患者中的疗效和安全性,并重点分析其预后影响因素.方法 收集2013年1月至2016年9月在北京协和医院就诊且经细胞学或组织学证实的晚期(ⅢB ～Ⅳ期)ALK阳性NSCLC患者50例,记录相关临床信息、治疗方案并随访疗效和安全性,分析预后影响因素.结果 截至随访结束,进展患者(24例)中位无进展生存期(PFS)为9.6个月(95％ CI为8.3 ～10.9个月),其中5例死亡;未进展患者(26例)中位随访时间为10.7个月.最常见的不良反应为肝功能异常(48.0％,24/50);在Kaplan-Meier单因素分析中,≤40岁的患者拥有更长的PFS(P =0.017),且COX回归多因素分析(Enter法)也有意义(HR =6.1,95％ CI为1.4～27.5,P=0.018);而性别(HR =0.8,95％ CI为0.2～2.6,P=0.697)、吸烟史(HR=1.5,95％ CI为0.4 ～5.6,P=0.524)、病理类型(HR=1.1,95％ CI为0.3 ～4.2,P=0.922)、分期(HR=1.7,95％ CI为0.4 ～8.4,P=0.502)、表皮生长因子受体(EGFR)突变型(HR =0.4,95％ CI为0.4 ～4.3,P=0.461)、EGFR未知(HR=1.3,95％ CI为0.3～6.1,P=0.727)、美国东部肿瘤协作组体能状态评分(HR =2.0,95％ CI为0.6 ～6.8,ECOG PS评分,P=0.290)、既往治疗情况(HR =0.6,95％ CI为0.2～1.8,P=0.385)和脑转移情况(HR =0.7,95％ CI为0.1 ～3.2,P=0.628)均与疾病进展时间无关.结论 克唑替尼对晚期ALK阳性NSCLC患者有良好的疗效,安全可耐受,年龄是其预后的独立影响因素.     

Continuing EGFR inhibition beyond progression in advanced non-small cell lung cancer

The majority of patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) respond to first-line EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), but nearly all inevitably acquire resistance and develop disease progression. Conventional practice would be to switch treatments to second-line therapy. However, continuing TKIs beyond progression is becoming increasingly commonplace in patients with indolent, small volume asymptomatic growth, who may potentially continue to derive ongoing clinical benefit and to avoid a ‘withdrawal tumour flare’. Nevertheless, there are limitations to our current criteria for assessing disease response, which are based on radiological assessments without considering symptomatic benefit, or the complex molecular and clinical heterogeneity of tumour growth and drug response patterns. In this article, we review the rationale for continuing EGFR inhibitors in patients with EGFR mutant NSCLC beyond disease progression and discuss strategies that have been pursued in the context of molecularly and clinically heterogeneous populations of tumour growth depending on the different clinical scenarios encountered. We discuss the management of systemic disease progression, including continuing EGFR TKIs alone, introducing a drug holiday, or combining TKIs with chemotherapy or other molecularly targeted agents. We also focus on approaches in managing patients with indolent, small volume asymptomatic growth (non-CNS oligometastatic disease progression) and those with oligometastatic EGFR mutant NSCLC with involvement of the central nervous system. We envision future precision medicine strategies through the use of next generation sequencing strategies of serial tumour rebiopsies and circulating plasma DNA to individualise the management for such patients during disease progression.     

B and CTL responses to the ALK protein in patients with ALK-positive ALCL

Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) has a good prognosis compared to ALK-negative ALCL, possibly as a result of the immune recognition of the ALK proteins. The aim of our study was to investigate the presence of both a B and cytotoxic T cell (CTL) response to ALK in ALK-positive ALCL. We confirmed the presence of an antibody response to ALK in all 9 ALK-positive ALCL patients investigated. An ELISpot assay was used to detect a gamma-interferon (IFN) T cell response after short term culture of mononuclear blood cells with 2 ALK-derived HLA-A*0201 restricted peptides: ALKa and ALKb. A significant gamma-IFN response was identified in all 7 HLA-A*0201-positive ALK-positive ALCL patients but not in ALK-negative ALCL patients (n = 2) or normal subjects (n = 6). CTL lines (>95% CD8-positive) raised from 2 ALK-positive ALCL patients lysed ALK-positive ALCL derived cell lines in a MHC-Class I restricted manner. This is the first report of both a B cell and CTL response to ALK in patients with ALK-positive ALCL. This response persisted during long-term remission. The use of modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) to express ALK is also described. Our findings are of potential prognostic value and open up therapeutic options for those ALK-positive patients who do not respond to conventional treatment.     

厄洛替尼治疗EGFR野生型晚期非小细胞肺癌的疗效分析

目的:评价厄洛替尼治疗EGFR野生型NSCLC的疗效及安全性.方法:31名Ⅲ/Ⅳ期或术后复发,不携带EGFR敏感突变(外显子18、19、21)的NSCLC患者服用厄洛替尼(150 mg/d).结果:术后再发的,EGFR野生型的,Ⅲ期或Ⅳ期患者服用厄洛替尼(150 mg/d),1例完全缓解,4例部分缓解,8例疾病稳定.缓解率为17.2%,疾病控制率为44.8%.皮疹是最常见的不良反应(80.6%).有两名患者出现了间质性肺病.但所有这些不良反应均为可逆的,没有出现治疗相关死亡.中位无进展生存时间及中位生存时间分别为2.1个月与7.7个月.结论:厄洛替尼可能会成为化疗耐受的EGFR野生型NSCLC患者的一个替代方案.     

ALK inhibitors: a new targeted therapy in the treatment of advanced NSCLC

The anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) fusion gene is a key oncogenic driver in a subset of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Oncogenic fusion genes, including echinoderm microtubule-associated protein-like 4 (EML4) and ALK, have been detected in approximately 2–7 % of NSCLC patients. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) is the recommended method for detecting ALK gene rearrangement. EML4–ALK fusion genes define a molecular subset of NSCLC with distinct clinical characteristic (lung adenocarcinoma, never or former smoker, usually mutually exclusive with EGFR mutations). Crizotinib (PF-02341066) is an orally bioavailable, ATP-competitive, small molecule inhibitor of both the receptor tyrosine kinases ALK and c-MET (hepatocyte growth factor receptor). Crizotinib has been shown to yield important clinical benefit such as objective response rate, progression-free survival (PFS), and anticipated improvements in quality of life when used in pretreated patients with advanced NSCLC harboring EML4–ALK gene rearrangement. Preliminary phase II data suggested that crizotinib is safe and well tolerated with rapid and robust antitumor activity. A phase III randomized trial in a second-line setting showed response rate and PFS (primary study endpoint) advantage for crizotinib as compared to second-line chemotherapy. Treatment-related adverse events, predominantly restricted to the gastrointestinal and visual systems, are generally self-limiting or easily managed. Crizotinib is a new standard of care for patients with advanced, ALK-positive, NSCLC. In this review, we will discuss the discovery of ALK rearrangements, the clinical epidemiology of lung cancer driven by ALK, the clinical data for ALK-targeted therapy in NSCLC, and ongoing ALK inhibitor-based clinical trials.     

EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors beyond focal progression obtain a prolonged disease control in patients with advanced adenocarcinoma of the lung

Introduction

Recent data show that EGFR pathway and its inhibition maintain their role after progression of disease during EGFR TKI therapy in NSCLCs. We conducted a retrospective study with the aim of evaluating efficacy and feasibility of prosecution of EGFR TKI therapy beyond focal progression associated to locoregional radiotherapy.

Methods

We retrospectively analyzed the data of all NSCLC patients treated with EGFR TKIs in our institution from 2004 to 2012. We included in the analysis patients that after a focal disease progression, meant as a single lesion RECIST progression, have been treated with definitive locoregional radiotherapy, associated to continuation of EGFR TKI therapy until further progression.

Results

15 out of 147 patients (10%) satisfied inclusion criteria. The median progression free survival, measured from the date of focal progression until further progression of disease or death by any cause, was 10,9 months (range 3–32 months). The corresponding 6 and 12 months PFS rates were 73% and 33%, respectively.

Conclusion

The longer disease control observed in our patients suggests that continuation of EGFR TKI beyond focal progression associated to a locoregional treatment is an efficacious therapeutic strategy.