TITLE:
Discordant tumor response in the treatment of ALK-rearranged non-small cell lung cancer leads to the diagnosis of synchronous multiple primary lung cancer
AUTHORS:
Benny Johnson, Maged Khalil
KEYWORDS:
Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer; Crizotinib; Synchronous Multiple Primary Lung Cancer; EML4-ALK Fusion Gene
JOURNAL NAME:
Case Reports in Clinical Medicine,
Vol.2 No.1,
March
12,
2013
ABSTRACT: The
advent of targeted molecular therapy against the EML4-ALK fusion gene is the latest therapeutic intervention for a
subset of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Crizotinib
(Xalkori) is an orally available small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor
proven in clinical trials to significantly impact progression free survival and
overall response rate. We present a case of a 56-year-old male with NSCLC whose
lack of a positive treatment response to this therapy led to the clinical
suspicion and identification of the underdiagnosed entity known as synchronous
multiple primary lung cancer (SMPLC).