Pathological complete response to neoadjuvant ceritinib of a crizotinib-resistant, stage IIIB non-small cell lung cancer with ALK rearrangement: A case report

The treatment of stage IIIB non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is complicated, the best strategy is chosen individually and surgery is usually not recommended. A 50-year-old female was diagnosed with locally advanced lung adenocarcinoma (stage IIIB, T2bN3M0). Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis revealed an ALK rearrangement. Crizotinib was administered and progression was seen after five months. The patient then received ceritinib with a palliative intent, which led to downstaging (IIIA[N2]) with a radiological and metabolic response. Right lower lobe lobectomy was performed at 12 months post-surgery, and the patient is still disease-free according to the last computed tomography (CT) scan. The unintended downstaging from ceritinib provided a chance for resection in our patient who had ALK-positive stage IIIB NSCLC after the failure of first-line crizotinib, indicating potential usage of ceritinib in the neoadjuvant setting. Future perspective trials are warranted to investigate the role of ceritinib in earlier stages as a primary drug.