Can crizotinib treat met gene mutations?

Crizotinib is an oral small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor, which is mainly used to treat patients with ALK (anaplastic lymphoma kinase) or ROS1 ( c-rosSarcoma oncogen-Receptor tyrosine kinase) gene rearrangement in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, crizotinib has also shown certain therapeutic effects for MET gene mutations, especially METgene 14 exon skipping mutations (METex14).

The MET gene is an important proto-oncogene, and the c-MET protein it encodes plays a key role in physiological processes such as cell proliferation, differentiation, migration and apoptosis. When the MET gene is mutated, such as the 14 exon skipping mutation, it will lead to abnormal activation of the c-MET protein, thereby promoting the growth and spread of tumor cells. Although the incidence of this mutation in NSCLC is not high, once it occurs, it is often associated with a poor prognosis.

Multiple retrospective analyzes and clinical studies have shown that crizotinib has shown significant efficacy in the treatment of METex14 mutated NSCLC patients. These studies showed that progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were significantly prolonged in patients treated with crizotinib. For example, in some studies, the median PFS of patients with METex14 mutations treated with crizotinib can reach several months or even more than a year, which far exceeds the effect of traditional chemotherapy or best supportive care.

In terms of safety, crizotinib also showed good tolerability. Although it may cause some adverse reactions, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, visual disturbances, etc., most of these reactions are mild to moderate and can be effectively controlled through appropriate drug treatment and dose adjustment.