Dr. Cohen Discusses Entrectinib in Head and Neck Cancer

Ezra Cohen, MD, associate director, Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego, discusses the role of entrectinib in treating patients with head and neck cancer.

Entrectinib is a potent inhibitor of ROS1 and NTRK. In some cancers, Cohen explains, the NTRK gene will fuse with other elements, usually transcription factors, and can activate the cancer phenotype in multiple ways.

In a case of anaplastic thyroid cancer, the tumor had this NTRK3 fusion and within 10 days, the patient went from being dependent to being out of the hospital after being treated with entrectinib.