TARGETED THERAPY OF LUNG CANCER WITH THE ROS1 REARRANGEMENT
The advances in molecular biology have had a considerable influence on the medicinal treatment of patients with small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The discovery of targets and development of drugs for molecular-targeted action improved the results of therapy of a specific group of patients. Translocation (rearrangeable) gene ROS-1 is quite rare – only in 1.7 percent of NSCLC patients. In addition to the genetic characteristics of the tumor, there are a number of morphological features that differentiate these patients from the general population. The most important is the fact that ROS-1 positive patients were very sensitive to crizotinib-tyrosine kinase inhibitor of ALK, MET and ROS1. Immediate effectiveness and long-term results of the use of crizotinib in this category of patients was even higher than the ALK translocation in the tumor. Therefore, it is advisable for patients, particularly with adenocarcinoma of the lung, in the absence of EGFR mutation and ALK to conduct molecular-genetic testing to determine ROS1. Individual approach to the choice of treatment strategy, timely correction of undesirable effects can greatly extend the life of NSCLC patients and improve its quality.