The approval of lorlatinib by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of metastatic anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)–positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) earlier this month offers a new treatment option for some people with lung cancer.

ALK-positive NSCLC makes up about 5 percent of all NSCLC cases, with about half of all cases occurring in people younger than 50. People who have never smoked and younger women are among those most likely to have ALK-positive NSCLC.

Lorlatinib previously received accelerated approval in the second- or third-line setting for people with ALK-positive NSCLC, Joshua K. Sabari, MD, assistant professor in the Department of Medicine and a member of NYU Langone Health’s Perlmutter Cancer Center, tells SurvivorNet.

“The approval is based on the impressive data presented in the phase III CROWN study, which demonstrated a significant improvement in progression-free survival as well as overall survival when lorlatinib was compared to crizotinib, particularly in patients with intracranial metastases,” Dr. Sabari says. “Alectinib remains the standard of care in the frontline setting; however, the full approval of lorlatinib adds another therapeutic option to our armamentarium in ALK-rearranged NSCLC.”

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