ceritinib and Sarcoma

BACKGROUND ALK gene rearrangements as oncogenic drivers have been described in many cancers, including inflammatory myofibroblastic sarcoma (IMS). The first-generation ALK inhibitor was limited in its ability to cross the blood-brain-barrier to treat brain metastasis. Drug-resistance invariably develops over time in ALK-rearranged tumors, which leads to disease progression. The newer generations of ALK inhibitors are designed to have higher potency in ALK inhibition and improved CNS penetration. CASE REPORT We report a rare case of pulmonary IMS with ALK-1 gene rearrangement and multiple brain metastases as initial presentation. After the primary lung tumor and the larger brain metastases were resected, control of residual CNS disease and subsequent progression and CNS spread was achieved with favorable clinical response by all three generations of ALK inhibitors. CONCLUSIONS ALK inhibitors may be an effective therapy for this rare and unusual form of ALK-1-rearranged cancer, even in the presence of multifocal CNS metastases with leptomeningeal involvement.

Topics: Adolescent; Aminopyridines; Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase; Brain Neoplasms; Crizotinib; Female; Gene Rearrangement; Humans; Lactams; Lactams, Macrocyclic; Lung Neoplasms; Meningeal Neoplasms; Myofibroblasts; Protein Kinase Inhibitors; Pyrazoles; Pyridines; Pyrimidines; Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; Sarcoma; Sulfones

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors (IMTs) are rare sarcomas that can occur at any age. Surgical resection is the primary treatment for patients with localized disease; however, these tumors frequently recur. Less commonly, patients with IMTs develop or present with metastatic disease. There is no standard of care for these patients and traditional cytotoxic therapy is largely ineffective. Most IMTs are associated with oncogenic ALK, ROS1 or PDGFRβ fusions and may benefit from targeted therapy.. We sought to understand the genomic abnormalities of a patient who presented for management of metastatic IMT after progression of disease on crizotinib and a significant and durable partial response to the more potent ALK inhibitor ceritinib.. The residual IMT was resected based on the recommendations of a multidisciplinary tumor sarcoma tumor board and analyzed by whole-genome mate pair sequencing. Analysis of the residual, resected tumor identified a chromoplectic TPM3-ALK rearrangement that involved many other known oncogenes and was confirmed by rtPCR.. In our analysis of the treatment-resistant, residual IMT, we identified a complex pattern of genetic rearrangements consistent with chromoplexy. Although it is difficult to know for certain if these chromoplectic rearrangements preceded treatment, their presence suggests that chromoplexy has a role in the oncogenesis of IMTs. Furthermore, this patient's remarkable response suggests that ceritinib should be considered as an option after progression on crizotinib for patients with metastatic or unresectable IMT and ALK mutations.

Topics: Adult; Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase; Crizotinib; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; Humans; Male; Myofibroblasts; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; Oncogene Proteins, Fusion; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; Proto-Oncogene Proteins; Pyrazoles; Pyridines; Pyrimidines; Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; Receptor, Platelet-Derived Growth Factor beta; Sarcoma; Standard of Care; Sulfones; Tropomyosin