Dr. Rotow on Updated ALEX Trial Results in ALK+ NSCLC

Julia Rotow, MD, medical oncologist, Lowe Center for Thoracic Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses updated data from the phase III ALEX trial in ALK-positive non—small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

The ALEX trial randomized patients with newly diagnosed ALK-positive NSCLC to receive alectinib (Alecensa) or crizotinib (Xalkori).

Initial results showed an improvement in progression-free survival (PFS) and central nervous system (CNS) activity with alectinib versus crizotinib, says Rotow.

According to 42-month follow-up data which were published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology in May 2019, the median PFS was 34.1 months with alectinib versus 10.2 months with crizotinib. Additionally, alectinib showed superiority over crizotinib in patients regardless of baseline CNS metastases. Overall survival (OS) data are immature, but a trend toward survival benefit was reported with alectinib compared with crizotinib, says Rotow.

At the 2019 ESMO Congress, mature PFS data, as well as updated OS and safety data were presented.