Brigatinib for the treatment of ALK-positive advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients

Brigatinib (AP-26113, Alunbrig) is a second-generation anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) that is highly active in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring ALK translocation. Brigatinib was found to be very active against different ALK resistance mutations that mediate acquired resistance biology processes, particularly G1269A ALK C1156Y, I1171S/T, V1180L and others. Different clinical trials evaluated the activity of brigatinib in crizotinib-resistant patients, confirming high activity with durable response not only in parenchymal disease, but also in intracranial disease. Nowadays, brigatinib is under evaluation in different clinical trials exploring TKI-naive patients in the first-line setting. On the basis of its significant activity results, brigatinib received approval by the FDA for the treatment of patients with ALK-positive metastatic NSCLC who have progressed on or are intolerant to crizotinib.