Mark A. Lemmon, PhD (Damon Runyon Scholar ’97-‘98, Damon Runyon Fellow ’93-’96) of Yale University, New Haven, and colleagues at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia reported that a next-generation ALK inhibitor drug, called PF-06463922, shows promise in treating pediatric neuroblastoma. In animal models, it caused rapid and sustained tumor regression and was more effective than the FDA-approved ALK inhibitor crizotinib. This new drug is currently being tested in a phase 1/2 clinical trial of an ALK-driven subtype of lung cancer in adults. The researchers aim to pursue clinical development of this agent for treating children with an ALK-driven subtype of neuroblastoma. The study results were published in the journal Cancer Discovery.
