Spotlight on the treatment of non‐small cell lung cancer with rare genetic alterations and brain metastasis: Current status and future perspectives

Abstract

In patients with non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), oncogenic variants present in <5% of cases are considered rare, the predominant of which include human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) mutations, mesenchymal–epithelial transition (MET) alterations, c‐ros oncogene 1 (ROS1) rearrangements, rearrangement during transfection (RET) fusions, v‐raf mouse sarcoma virus oncogene homolog B1 (BRAF) mutations, and neurotrophic troponin receptor kinase (NTRK) fusions. Brain metastases (BMs) occur in approximately 10%–50% of patients with NSCLC harboring rare genetic variants. The recent advent of small‐molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors and macromolecular antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs) has conferred marked survival benefits to patients with NSCLC harboring rare driver alterations. Despite effective brain lesion control for most targeted agents and promising reports of intracranial remission associated with novel ADCs, BM continues to be a major therapeutic challenge. This review discusses the recent advances in the treatment of NSCLC with rare genetic variants and BM, with a particular focus on intracranial efficacy, and explores future perspectives on how best to treat these patients.