Dr. Drilon on RET Rearrangements in NSCLC

Alexander Drilon, MD, medical oncologist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses RET rearrangements for patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Beyond EGFR, ALK, and ROS1, there are a number of genomic subsets that have been of interest, particularly RET rearrangements, explains Drilon. RET rearrangements are fusions that are similar to ROS1, and occur in about 1% to 2% of NSCLC.

In 2016, there were 3 phase II studies, which demonstrated the response rate was anywhere from 15% to 50%, depending on the trial. The lesson there, according to Drilon, is that researchers are not quite seeing the same level of responses that are being seen with ALK and ROS1.