Shows 83% Response Rate in RET Fusion Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

A major clinical trial called LIBRETTO-001 has released final results showing that a targeted drug called selpercatinib works exceptionally well for patients with a specific type of lung cancer. The study focused on patients whose lung cancer has a genetic change called RET fusion, which affects how cancer cells grow and is found in about 1-2% of lung cancer patients.

The trial studied 316 patients with RET fusion-positive non-small cell lung cancer. Researchers divided them into two groups: 247 patients who had already received chemotherapy treatment, and 69 patients who had never been treated before.

The results were impressive. Among patients who had never received treatment, 83% saw their tumors shrink significantly. Even in patients who had already tried chemotherapy, 62% responded well to selpercatinib. These response rates are much higher than what doctors typically see with standard treatments.

The drug also helped patients live longer without their cancer getting worse. Treatment-naive patients went an average of 22 months before their cancer progressed, while previously treated patients went 26.2 months. When tumors did respond to the treatment, the responses lasted a long time – over 20 months in both groups.

Importantly, selpercatinib also worked well for patients whose cancer had spread to their brain, which is often difficult to treat. Among 26 patients with brain metastases, 85% saw their brain tumors shrink.

The drug was generally well-tolerated, with manageable side effects that were consistent with previous studies. After following patients for about three years, 57% of previously treated patients and 66% of treatment-naive patients were still alive.

These final results confirm that selpercatinib is highly effective for RET fusion lung cancer patients, offering hope for this specific group of patients who previously had limited treatment options.