Article and Video CATEGORIES

Several weeks ago, we were fortunate enough to be joined by not one but two international stars in lung cancer research that is being translated directly from lab bench to bedside of the patient. I don't think there's a more clear and inspiring example of good science leading to effective therapy, albeit for a limited patient population, than the story of the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) inhibitor crizotinib (recently FDA approved and commercially launched as XALKORI) for patients with an EML4-ALK rearrangement (approximately 4% of the broader NSCLC population). Drs. Ben Solomon from Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, Australia, and Ross Camidge from University of Colorado, in Denver, collaborated with a handful of other international researchers from all over the world to study crizotinib and conduct the critical trials, shepherding its development into a treatment now available to help a targeted subset of patients with this targeted therapy.
Dr. Ben Solomon spoke first, providing an overview of the (short) history of the EML4-ALK translocation and how crizotinib began to be studied in the first patients. He then took us on a tour of the highlights of both the efficacy data for this new agent and the side effect profile. Here's the audio version of his presentation:
This is the first of the series of podcasts from this program on ALK inhibition. The next one, coming very soon, will cover Dr. Camidge's presentation, which covered practical issues such as screening for ALK and alternative treatment options for ALK-positive patients. Special thanks to LUNGevity Foundation for partnering with GRACE to make the live program and these subsequent podcasts possible.
Please feel free to offer comments and raise questions in our
discussion forums.
Forum Discussions
Hi Stan, It's good to hear your voice and know your cheesecakes are still making the rounds. Though I'm sure startling, I imagine some of those little pockets of the house...
Hi Rutbats, Welcome to GRACE and thanks for the kind words.
We can't say what you should or shouldn't do and I can't say why your RA doc made their...
Thank you very much for your quick answer, Janine.
I have an appointment with a pulmonologist in 10 days. I will summarize the conversation with him here, so that other people...
Glad to know you're moving forward with a pulmonologist. The more you know the better the conversation with your pulmonologist. Remember you can help your docs know what level their conversation...
Hi Terry, Welcome to Grace.
I saw this exact post somewhere else months back and the only response was to a lab. I hope that doesn't happen here, we don't allow...
Stan - Thank you once again for your kind words. Thank you as well for your donation. As you know, your donation helps us to exist and continue to fulfill our...