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Adding checkpoint inhibitors to tyrosine kinase inhibitors targeting EGFR/ALK in non-small cell lung cancer: a new therapeutic strategy

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Summary

After the massive approval of checkpoint inhibitors in the treatment of numerous malignancies and settings, checkpoint inhibitors-based combination therapies are emerging as a new therapeutic modality. Nivolumab and pembrolizumab (anti-PD1 agents) were recently approved as second-line treatment in NSCLC after progression on platinum-doublets. In parallel, targeting EGFR/ALK in NSCLC using tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) demonstrated remarkable outcomes and was approved as standard treatment, in patients with EGFR mutation or ALK rearrangement. Combining TKI targeting EGFR/ALK with checkpoint inhibitors seems a promising therapeutic option and is being evaluated in different trials. We aimed in this paper to elucidate the rationale behind this combination, to report the premilinary results of ongoing trials evaluating this association and finally, to discuss briefly the possible future indication of this treatment modality.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hematology-oncology department, Faculty of medicine, Saint Joseph University, Beirut, Lebanon

    Samer Tabchi, Hampig Raphael Kourie & Joseph Kattan

  2. Medical Oncology department, Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Samer Tabchi

  3. Oncology department, Jules Bordet Institute, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium

    Hampig Raphael Kourie

Authors
  1. Samer Tabchi
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  2. Hampig Raphael Kourie
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  3. Joseph Kattan
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Correspondence to Hampig Raphael Kourie.

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Tabchi, S., Kourie, H.R. & Kattan, J. Adding checkpoint inhibitors to tyrosine kinase inhibitors targeting EGFR/ALK in non-small cell lung cancer: a new therapeutic strategy. Invest New Drugs 34, 794–796 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10637-016-0383-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10637-016-0383-2

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