ALK Lung Cancer Clinical Trials Recruiting (Current as of Nov 2019)
There are many exciting and new trials for lung cancer, including 47 trials for ALK-positive lung cancer.
Please see below for information about new studies, and links to a spreadsheet with all ALK-positive lung cancer trials. These are taken from United States websites, so they focus on the US but they list where the trials are being done all over the world.
Newly added trials: Advanced or stage 4 patients
For Stage IV or advanced patients, there are two studies looking at localized treatment, such as surgery or radiation, added to ALK inhibitor targeted therapy.
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03707938
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02314364
Newly added trials: Stages 1-3
For those with stages 1-3 ALK lung cancer for whom curative treatment is being attempted, there are 3 trials that combine ALK inhibitors with definitive surgery and/or chemoradiation. The hope is that the rate of recurrence can be reduced if ALK inhibitors are added to the standard treatment.
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03456076
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02201992
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03088930?term=crizotinib+neo+adjuvant&cond=alk&rank=1
In a rush to begin treatment, many newly diagnosed ALK positive patients unknowingly disqualify themselves from clinical trials.
Two weeks after my husband was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, I was blessed to find a local support group for caregivers of those with advanced cancer. I told my story and shed some tears about the incurable disease in my 52 year old husband's lungs and brain. I mentioned my husband was interested in a joining a clinical trial, because he wanted to help others who would face this terrible news in the future.
Another member of the group spoke up and said he wanted me to listen closely to what he was going to say. He explained that if my husband wanted to participate in a clinical trial, he should not start the treatment recommended by our local oncologist. He said starting on the standard of care treatment would likely disqualify him from any first-line experimental treatments. I remembered his thoughtful advice and his kindness.
Shortly afterward, my husband was found to have the ALK mutation on biomarker testing. On the website of the university hospital closest to our home, I found a first-line clinical trial of Brigatinib, a promising but unapproved ALK inhibitor. We contacted the oncologist supervising the trial, and after waiting two weeks my husband was the first person in our state to receive Brigatinib as initial treatment for ALK positive lung cancer. He had a wonderful response, and he is still on the medication today, three years later. If he had decided to start another drug even for a few days, he would have been ineligible for the Brigatinib clinical trial.
In the ALK positive lung cancer community, our challenge is to get word to the newly diagnosed that treatment can usually wait until biomarker testing is complete and all options are explored. Waiting a few weeks to begin treatment or a clinical trial may be frightening, but investing that time at diagnosis could make a difference in long-term survival.
Here's where you can find help in finding a clinical trial at any stage in treatment:
GO2 Foundation for Lung Cancer - LUNGMATCH https://go2foundation.org/resources-and-support/general-support/lungmatch/
Lungevity online clinical trials finder:
https://clinicaltrials.lungevity.org/
Centerwatch Clinical Trials Search:
https://www.centerwatch.com/clinical-trials/listings/
ALK Positive support group clinical trials spreadsheet*:
For general information about participating in an ALK NSCLC clinical trial, here is a summary:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-otPfoO7ssPZ4ZGAIZUhXLNF-jWVpvUsbQJzRbMcNjA/edit?usp=sharing
*Spreadsheet developed by ALK Positive Volunteer Ellee Urban and ALK Positive MPAC in August 2018. Updated monthly and posted in the ALK Positive Support Group.
Disclaimer: these trials have been consolidated by a volunteer and should not be considered exhaustive. Listing of these trials is not an endorsement, and ALK Positive does not recommend one trial over another. Please talk with your doctor about these or any trials you are interested in.