Crizotinib in Metastatic ALK mutant Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Patients: A Single Centre Experience

The goal of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of crizotinib in patients with ALK-positive metastatic lung cancer. The patients' data were analyzed retrospectively. Cox regression and Kaplan-Meier methods were used to perform survival analyses. A total of 25 patients were involved in the study. Thirteen (52%) patients were male, and the average age was 55 (range, 30-80). 23 (92%) of the patients were de-novo metastatic. Brain metastases were present in 32% and liver metastases in 20% of the patients. Before crizotinib treatment, 64% of the patients had received chemotherapy, and 20% had received palliative radiotherapy. Progression-free survival was found as 16.8 (CI 95%, 5.7-27.9) months. Grade 1-2 side effects were detected in 36% of the patients, and grade 3-4 side effects were observed in 12%. After progression, 13 (52%) patients received 2nd series ALK inhibitors (alectinib, ceritinib, and lorlatinib) or chemotherapy. The median overall survival (OS) was found as 44.2 (95% CI, 28.5-59.9) months. The four-year OS rate was 37.4%. In the multivariate analysis, the ALK positivity ratio (p=0.02) was determined as a statistically significant factor affecting OS. We showed efficacy data of crizotinib in patients with ALK mutant metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. Crizotinib is an effective and safe therapy for patients with ALK mutant metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. Also, we found that the ALK positivity ratio was prognostic for OS.