Discovery of a putative blood-based protein signature associated with response to ALK tyrosine kinase inhibition

ALK tyrosine kinase inhibition has become a mainstay in the clinical management of ALK fusion positive NSCLC patients. Although ALK mutations can reliably predict the likelihood of response to ALK tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) such as crizotinib, they cannot reliably predict response duration or intrinsic/extrinsic therapeutic resistance. To further refine the application of personalized medicine in this indication, this study aimed to identify prognostic proteomic biomarkers in ALK fusion positive NSCLC patients to crizotinib. Twenty-four patients with advanced NSCLC harboring ALK fusion were administered crizotinib in a phase IV trial which included blood sampling prior to treatment. Targeted proteomics of 327 proteins using MRM-MS was used to measure plasma levels at baseline (including pre-treatment and early treatment blood samples) and assess potential clinical association. Patients were categorized by duration of response: long-term responders [PFS ≥ 24 months (n = 7)], normal responders [3