Long-term disease control in a patient with ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer

Abstract

Non-small cell lung cancer is a very heterogeneous group of diseases. When choosing an effective patient management strategy, an oncologist focuses on the stage of the disease, the morphological form of the tumor, as well as its molecular genetic markers. Most of the targeted mutations in lung cancer today are in adenocarcinoma. The standard for detecting this type of cancer in 2022 is the determination of mutations in the EGFR genes (18-21 exons) and BRAF (V600E), translocations of the ALK and ROS1 genes, and determination of PD-L1 status regardless of gender, age, and history of smoking. Often, lung cancer is detected in the advanced stages, but the detection of ALK gene translocation can give the patient a high chance of a longer life expectancy and long-term control of the disease. In this article, on the example of a clinical case of a patient with ALK-positive lung adenocarcinoma, a multidisciplinary approach to the management of cancer patients, long-term control of the disease with the use of the second-generation targeted medication alectinib, as well as treatment options for disease progression are demonstrated.

Keywords

• adenocarcinoma
• metastasis
• brain
• non-small cell lung cancer
• <i>alk</i> translocation
• targeted therapy
• alectinib
• lorlatinib