Each year, there are 1.8 million people diagnosed worldwide with lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer death. The most common type of lung cancer is non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), accounting for 9 out of 10 cases.
Advances in genetic research have revealed that NSCLC is not a single disease, but rather many types of cancer with specific genetic differences. Because of these small but important differences, lung cancer medicines that target specific genes, such as anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), can be developed. About 2-7% of people with NSCLC have the ALK gene rearrangement.
The ALK mutation is a genetic alteration of your lung cells’ DNA that causes these cells to grow abnormally and ultimately behave as cancer cells. As these cancer cells begin to grow in your lung, they can potentially spread to other parts of your body.
Among the many different mutations that can drive cancer to grow, the ALK mutation is one of the more treatable as it often responds dramatically to targeted therapy.
Targeted medicine has changed the treatment of ALK+ NSCLC by blocking the action of the altered ALK gene to help shrink or slow cancer growth.
However, studies have shown that patients may experience disease progression, where their cancer may continue to grow or spread, less than a year after starting treatment with their first ALK inhibitor.3 For patients with ALK+ NSCLC, the most common sites of disease progression (or metastasis) include brain, liver and bone. Brain metastases in particular can affect up to 50% of patients with ALK+ NSCLC.
Today, there are targeted medicines available for patients who have experienced progression.
Experiencing lung cancer symptoms, including cough, shortness of breath, tiredness, pain, and anorexia, may indicate a relapse or progression of disease.
When you are diagnosed with ALK+ advanced NSCLC, you may want to ask your doctor questions like these about your diagnosis and treatment plan:
If lung cancer is newly diagnosed:
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