Brigatinib in Japanese patients with tyrosine kinase inhibitor-naive ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer: first results from the phase 2 J-ALTA study

BACKGROUND: We evaluated the safety and efficacy of the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) brigatinib in Japanese patients with TKI-naive ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) from the phase 2, open-label, single-arm, multicenter J-ALTA study. METHODS: In the TKI-naive cohort of J-ALTA, the primary end point was independent review committee (IRC)-assessed 12-month progression-free survival (PFS). Secondary end points included objective response rate (ORR), intracranial response, overall survival (OS), and safety. RESULTS: The data were cut approximately 12 months after last patient enrollment. Thirty-two patients with ALK TKI-naive ALK-positive NSCLC were enrolled (median age [range], 60.5 [29–85] years; median duration of follow-up, 14.2 [3.2–19.3] months; median treatment duration, 13.8 [0.4–19.3] months). IRC-assessed 12-month PFS was 93.0% (90% confidence interval (CI) 79.2–97.8%); ORR, 96.9% (95% CI 83.8–99.9%), 12-month OS, 96.9% (95% CI 79.8–99.6%), and median OS was not reached. Of five patients with measurable baseline CNS metastases, two had partial intracranial response. The most common treatment-emergent adverse events were increased blood creatine phosphokinase (81%), hypertension (59%), and diarrhea (47%). Grade ≥ 3 adverse events occurred in 91% of patients; pneumonitis was reported in 3 (9%) patients. CONCLUSIONS: In the J-ALTA TKI-naive cohort, brigatinib demonstrated clinically meaningful efficacy consistent with the international phase 3 study. The safety profile in Japanese patients was consistent with previous studies. Brigatinib is an important first-line option for Japanese patients with ALK-positive NSCLC. CLINICAL REGISTRATION: NCT03410108 SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10147-022-02232-7.