Dr. Drilon on Activity of Larotrectinib in TRK Fusion-Positive NSCLC

Alexander E. Drilon, MD, medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses the activity of larotrectinib (Vitrakvi) in patients with TRK fusion—positive non–small cell lung cancer.

At the 2019 European Lung Cancer Conference, Drilon reported data from the larotrectinib series on the outcomes of the 11 patients with NSCLC who harbor TRK fusions. Investigators found that there was a high response rate to therapy with some deep responses. There was a 71% objective response rate, among which there was 1 complete response. Moreover, every patient had disease reduction.

At the interim analysis, the median duration of response was not reached. Most patients who received larotrectinib for their TRK fusion—positive lung cancers remain on therapy, says Drilon. The longest reported time on therapy is approximately 2.5 years, he adds.

The last aspect of the trial that was featured at the meeting was the intracranial activity of larotrectinib. Three out of 11 patients had brain metastases on the trial. Though some have questioned the activity of TRK inhibitors in the CNS, investigators noted that patients had disease regression both extracranially and intracranially, says Drilon.