Dr. Mok on Breakthrough Therapies for ALK-Positive NSCLC

Tony Mok, MD, professor of Medicine, Department of Clinical Oncology, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong, discusses breakthrough therapies and ongoing trials for patients with ALK-positive non—small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Pivotal trials in this area of research include the ALEX and J-ALEX studies, Mok explains. In the J-ALEX trial, an open-label phase III Japanese study, alectinib (Alecensa) improved progression-free survival (PFS) by 66% compared with crizotinib (Xalkori) as frontline therapy in patients with advanced or recurrent ALK-positive disease. In the global phase III ALEX trial, alectinib is being compared with crizotinib in chemotherapy-naïve patients with ALK-positive NSCLC.

Mok advises that researchers should wait for the global ALEX results before making treatment decisions, as there are major differences between J-ALEX and ALEX. The ALEX findings are expected to be presented in 2017, which should help practitioners determine whether crizotinib or alectinib is a more effective frontline treatment for patients with ALK-positive NSCLC.

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