Alectinib adjuvant therapy for ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer

Alectinib is in clinical development for the adjuvant treatment of patients with anaplastic
lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that have undergone
complete resection. NSCLC makes up most lung cancer cases. In patients with ALK-positive
NSCLC, part of the ALK gene is mutated which results in the production of an abnormal form of
the ALK protein which stimulates the cancer cells to divide and grow in an uncontrolled fashion.
Adjuvant therapy is the therapy that is given to the patient after surgery to remove any remaining
cancer cells that have not been removed. About half of people with NSCLC experience disease
recurrence following surgery. Recent treatment innovations have improved the outcomes for
some patients with early-stage NSCLC; however, there are no approved ALK inhibitors for earlystage
ALK-positive disease.