Dr. Reckamp on the Significance of ALTA in ALK+ NSCLC

Karen L. Reckamp, MD, director, Medical Oncology, associate director, Clinical Research, medical oncology director, Lung Institute, Samuel Oschin Cancer Center, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, discusses the significance of the final results of the ALTA studies in ALK-positive non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

During the 2021 ASCO Annual Meeting, the final results of the ALTA trial demonstrated sustained long-term activity with brigatinib (Alunbrig) in patients with ALK-positive, crizotinib (Xalkori)-refractory NSCLC.

In the phase 1/2 study, the median progression-free survival (PFS) was 14.5 months in all patients with a median follow-up of 27.7 months. The last patient was enrolled on the study 5.6 years prior to the final results. In arm B of the ALTA trial, the median PFS was 16.7 months with a median follow-up of 28.3 months. The last patient was enrolled 4.4 years prior to the final results of the study.

Although crizotinib is no longer typically utilized in the frontline setting for patients with ALK-positive NSCLC, understanding the long-term durability of responses with brigatinib in this patient population is important, says Reckamp. ALK-altered NSCLC is relatively rare, so determining the optimal sequencing of the multiple, efficacious ALK inhibitors available in this setting is clinically meaningful, Reckamp concludes.