Nine in ten patients responded: a drug already used for lung cancer is finding the rare cancers nothing else reaches

Rare cancers with a particular gene fault called an ALK fusion often have no approved treatment of their own. The UK's DETERMINE trial — a national study that matches patients to existing drugs based on their tumour's genetics — reported at the ESMO congress that 90% of patients on its alectinib arm saw their tumours shrink, and that shrinkage turned into real clinical benefit. Alectinib is already used in lung cancer; DETERMINE, sponsored by Cancer Research UK and led by Matthew Krebs, is testing whether it can be formally approved for these rare groups too. The arm deliberately included children as well as adults, and recruitment continues.

SDG 3 · Good health and well-being — Mechanism: tech innovation