Chao Zhang1, Shao-Lei Li2, Qiang Nie3, Song Dong3, Yang Shao4, Xue-Ning Yang3, Yi-Long Wu3, Yue Yang2, Wen-Zhao Zhong5. 1. Guangdong Lung Cancer Institute, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Translational Medicine in Lung Cancer, Guangdong General Hospital and Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China; School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China. 2. Department of Thoracic Surgery II, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research, Ministry of Education, Peking University Cancer Hospital and Institute, Beijing, People's Republic of China. 3. Guangdong Lung Cancer Institute, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Translational Medicine in Lung Cancer, Guangdong General Hospital and Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China. 4. Translational Medicine Research Institute, Geneseeq Technology, Inc., Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 5. Guangdong Lung Cancer Institute, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Translational Medicine in Lung Cancer, Guangdong General Hospital and Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: 13609777314@163.com.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Locally advanced NSCLC is one of the most heterogeneous conditions, with multidimensional treatments involved. Neoadjuvant therapy had been commonly considered an optimal management strategy for patients with operable locally advanced. However, as targeted therapy has been widely applied in advanced NSCLC, neoadjuvant targeted therapy has remained poorly explored in locally advanced disease. METHODS: We have described 11 ALK receptor tyrosine kinase gene (ALK)-positive patients with pathologically confirmed N2 NSCLC who were treated with neoadjuvant crizotinib. All the patients were treatment naive and received crizotinib at a starting dose of 250 mg twice daily. Patient 3 was provided with dynamic monitoring before and after neoadjuvant therapy through next-generation sequencing of plasma and tissue. In case 4, next-generation sequencing of preoperative tissue was performed. RESULTS: Of the 11 patients, 10 had a partial response and one was stable disease after neoadjuvant crizotinib, with one suffering from grade 4 hepatic damage. Of the 11 patients, 10 (91.0%) received an R0 resection and 2 patients achieved a pathological complete response to neoadjuvant crizotinib. Six patients had disease recurrence, with five of them receiving crizotinib as first-line treatment and achieving a long duration of response. Dynamic monitoring of both plasma and tissue simultaneously indicated a decrease in sensitive ALK signaling in patient 3 and a partial response (approximately 50% of partial response), and no ALK-dependent resistance variants were captured. CONCLUSION: Neoadjuvant crizotinib may be feasible and well tolerated in locally advanced disease for complete resection. Crizotinib therapy before surgery may provide thorough elimination of circulating molecular residual disease and not influence the reuse of first-line crizotinib, but ongoing prospective trials are warranted to prove its efficacy in the neoadjuvant setting.
BACKGROUND: Locally advanced NSCLC is one of the most heterogeneous conditions, with multidimensional treatments involved. Neoadjuvant therapy had been commonly considered an optimal management strategy for patients with operable locally advanced. However, as targeted therapy has been widely applied in advanced NSCLC, neoadjuvant targeted therapy has remained poorly explored in locally advanced disease. METHODS: We have described 11 ALK receptor tyrosine kinase gene (ALK)-positive patients with pathologically confirmed N2 NSCLC who were treated with neoadjuvant crizotinib. All the patients were treatment naive and received crizotinib at a starting dose of 250 mg twice daily. Patient 3 was provided with dynamic monitoring before and after neoadjuvant therapy through next-generation sequencing of plasma and tissue. In case 4, next-generation sequencing of preoperative tissue was performed. RESULTS: Of the 11 patients, 10 had a partial response and one was stable disease after neoadjuvant crizotinib, with one suffering from grade 4 hepatic damage. Of the 11 patients, 10 (91.0%) received an R0 resection and 2 patients achieved a pathological complete response to neoadjuvant crizotinib. Six patients had disease recurrence, with five of them receiving crizotinib as first-line treatment and achieving a long duration of response. Dynamic monitoring of both plasma and tissue simultaneously indicated a decrease in sensitive ALK signaling in patient 3 and a partial response (approximately 50% of partial response), and no ALK-dependent resistance variants were captured. CONCLUSION: Neoadjuvant crizotinib may be feasible and well tolerated in locally advanced disease for complete resection. Crizotinib therapy before surgery may provide thorough elimination of circulating molecular residual disease and not influence the reuse of first-line crizotinib, but ongoing prospective trials are warranted to prove its efficacy in the neoadjuvant setting.