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VIDEO: Entrectinib safely, effectively treats gene-mutated cancers
NEW ORLEANS — Alexander Drilon, MD, assistant attending physician with the developmental therapeutics clinic and thoracic oncology service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, presented findings at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting that demonstrated the potential efficacy of the oral anticancer drug entrectinib.
Results of two trials showed entrectinib (RXDX-101, Ignyta) — a highly potent tyrosine kinase inhibitor — appeared safe and effective for patients with cancer who harbored NTRK, ROS1 and ALK alterations who had not previously received targeted therapies.
“The plea [to the clinical community] is that, if you have a patient you think might have a tumor that harbors an NTRK fusion, to get those tumors to comprehensive molecular profiling,” Drilon told HemOnc Today. “If you find these events, while they are rare, there now are these targeted therapeutics that can result in substantial benefit for patients.”