A lung cancer drug also worked on tumors that had spread to the brain
Original title: Intracranial Efficacy of Crizotinib and Postprogression Therapeutic Strategies in Advanced c-ros Oncogene 1 (ROS1)-Positive Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC), a Multicenter Real-World Study.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This was tested in people. That is the most reliable kind of research we share.
These medicines are already approved and in use, and doctors looked back at real patients who took them.
The short version
In a large study of people with ROS1 lung cancer, the drug crizotinib shrank tumors, including tumors in the brain.
What was studied. Doctors at 17 hospitals in China looked back at 325 patients treated between 2015 and 2024. All had non small cell lung cancer with a change in a gene called ROS1. The doctors checked how well crizotinib worked, and what worked next when the cancer started growing again.
What they found. Tumors shrank in 78.5% of patients taking crizotinib, and the cancer was held back for 22.4 months. Among patients whose cancer had already spread to the brain, the brain tumors shrank in 66.7% of them, and the brain cancer was held back for 22.2 months. After crizotinib stopped working, newer ROS1 drugs held the cancer back for 13.9 months, compared with 4.4 months for older drugs. Among two older drugs, lorlatinib shrank tumors in 34% of patients and entrectinib in 7%.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: If you have lung cancer with a ROS1 gene change that has spread to the brain, crizotinib may help the brain tumors, not just the lung tumors. It also suggests that the choice of drug after crizotinib stops working matters. This is worth asking your cancer doctor about, since these medicines are already in use.
What it doesn't mean: This is not a cure. It does not mean the cancer goes away for good, and it does not mean everyone gets the same result. This was not a planned trial. Doctors looked back at records of patients they had already treated, so the results are less certain than a trial. It also only applies to lung cancer with a ROS1 gene change, not to tumors that start in the brain.
Source: PubMed, July 13, 2026 · Read the original
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