Personalized treatment strategies for non-small-cell lung cancer in Chinese patients: the role of crizotinib

Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) rearrangement is an oncogene targeted with approved drugs second to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in lung cancer. Crizotinib was developed and introduced into clinical practice rapidly and successfully after the discovery of ALK rearrangement in non-small-cell lung cancer. Chinese and other Asian patients treated with crizotinib seem to have lower toxicity and higher efficacy compared with other ethnicities. Crizotinib showed potent antitumor activity and manageable toxicity in mesenchymal–epithelial transition factor (c-Met)/ROS1-positive non-small-cell lung cancer patients, but prospective clinical trials are still needed to confirm its efficacy and safety. Crizotinib appears to be effective against tumors originating from various organs that harbor ALK abnormalities. In the near future, we would classify the tumors by their genetic information beyond organs, such as ALKoma, EGFRoma, and RAFoma, and a single compound could be used for many different types of cancer in different organs. The major challenge of the widespread use of crizotinib in clinical practice is establishing convenient diagnostic techniques for the detection of ALK/c-Met/ROS1. In the present study, we reviewed the application of crizotinib in Chinese patients.