Relevance of Detection of Mechanisms of Resistance to ALK Inhibitors in ALK-Rearranged NSCLC in Routine Practice.

Background: Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) have shown efficacy in the treatment of ALK-rearranged non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but the disease eventually progresses in all patients. In many cases, resistance to ALK TKIs arises through ALK mutations. Although clinical and biological data suggest variations in TKI efficacy according to the mechanism of resistance, ALK mutations are still rarely investigated in routine practice.