A rare blood cancer showed up during long-term lung cancer treatment
Original title: Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia Developing During Long-Term Alectinib Therapy Successfully Managed With Concomitant Nilotinib: A Case Report.
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.
This is a report about one patient, not a study that tested a treatment.
The short version
One woman on a lung cancer drug got a blood cancer, and a second drug helped.
What was studied. This is a report about one patient. A 53-year-old woman had a type of lung cancer called ALK-positive, which had spread to her lymph nodes and her brain.
What they found. Alectinib controlled her cancer for nearly 3 years. It worked in her body and in her brain. Then, 3 years and 1 month after she started, tests showed a blood cancer called chronic myeloid leukaemia. Doctors added a drug called nilotinib and kept alectinib going. Her blood got better quickly, with no serious side effects.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: If you take alectinib, your doctor may want to check your blood counts. This report also shows that one person took both drugs at the same time without serious side effects.
What it doesn't mean: This does not mean alectinib causes blood cancer. This is one patient's story, not a study. What happened to one person may not happen to anyone else. The doctors say more cases are needed to know if there is a real risk, and to know if taking both drugs together is safe. It is not a new treatment you can ask for, and it is not a promise of a cure.
Source: PubMed, August 17, 2026 · Read the original
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