{
  "abstract": "Anaplastic lymphoma kinase-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (ALK-TKIs) can produce substantial and durable tumor regression in ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We report three cases of stage N3 ALK-positive NSCLC patients who successfully underwent surgical resection after ALK-TKIs therapy. Case 1 was a 45-year-old female who had stable disease (SD) after three cycles of docetaxel plus cisplatin and then received crizotinib 250 mg twice daily for 150 days. Tumor diameter decreased by 81%, and she underwent lobectomy with mediastinal lymph-node dissection. The resected lung lesion and sampled nodes showed pathological complete response (pCR) (0/12 nodes). She did not receive postoperative ALK-TKI therapy and developed an isolated brain metastasis 12 months after surgery; treatment with crizotinib and Gamma Knife radiosurgery achieved subsequent disease control, and the reported overall survival (OS) was 83 months. Cases 2 and 3 were 57- and 51-year-old males, who received alectinib 600 mg twice daily for 225 and 135 days, respectively, and both achieved partial response. They underwent wedge resection and segmentectomy with mediastinal lymph-node dissection. Pathology showed non-major pathological response (non-MPR) with 0/5 involved nodes in Case 2 and pCR with 0/10 involved nodes in Case 3. Both continued postoperative alectinib and were alive without recurrence at the reported 64- and 38-month follow-up points, respectively. We report that, in selected patients with stage N3 ALK-positive NSCLC, surgical resection after induction therapy with ALK-TKIs is a feasible therapeutic strategy. Maintenance ALK-TKIs postoperatively may contribute to favorable long-term survival outcomes.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Pulmonary Surgery, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China."
  ],
  "article_type": "case report",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 4,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Beike Xiao",
      "orcid": "0009-0009-6826-0523"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Hao Guo",
      "orcid": "0009-0000-3200-1567"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jiatao Zhang",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-4302-9332"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Xue-Ning Yang",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-8346-2117"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0evf3h27hdbvz.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.21037/tlcr-2026-0982",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13743443",
  "id": "0evf3h27hdbvz",
  "issns": [
    "2218-6751",
    "2226-4477"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42999646",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Case Report"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2740|Lung Cancer Treatments and Mutations"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223332830",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13743443?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13743443",
  "pmid": "42999646",
  "published": "2026-09-30",
  "publisher": "AME Publications",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0evf3h27hdbvz.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-09T15:20:41Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42999646",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42999646"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-10T12:24:11Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13743443",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.21037/tlcr-2026-0982"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "journal-openalex:2730|Lung Cancer Research Studies",
      "subfield": "oncology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Surgical conversion after anaplastic lymphoma kinase-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (ALK-TKIs) therapy in N3 stage ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer: a report of three cases.",
  "title_text": "Surgical conversion after anaplastic lymphoma kinase-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (ALK-TKIs) therapy in N3 stage ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer: a report of three cases.",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-10T12:24:11Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0evf3h27hdbvz",
  "venue": "Translational lung cancer research",
  "versions": []
}