Management of Crizotinib, a new individualized treatment

Crizotinib, an inhibitor of the receptor tyrosine kinase anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), achieves response rates of 57 % at eight weeks in patients with stage IV non-small cell lung cancer with ALK rearrangements. With such results, the crizotinib followed an accelerated procedure in the United States and obtained the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval based on the results of phase I studies. The results should be confirmed with one phase II study and two phase III studies in patients with ALK rearrangements. In France, the Commission of Authorization for Marketing has granted an Authorization of Temporary Use (ATU) for cohort on the 15 December 2011 to allow its administration in patients before marketing authorization.