Taletrectinib (Ibtrozi) produced enduring responses among patients with ROS1-positive non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who received no prior tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), according to a presentation of pooled data from the phase 2 TRUST-I (NCT04395677) and TRUST-II trials (NCT04919811) at the 2026 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting.
In a pooled efficacy population of 157 patients who received no prior TKIs, taletrectinib produced a confirmed overall response rate (ORR) of 89.8% (95% CI, 84.0%-94.1%). Data also highlighted a median duration of response of 49.7 months (95% CI, 38.6-not reached [NR]) and a median progression-free survival (PFS) of 46.1 months (95% CI, 31.8-NR) across the pooled population. Among 17 patients with evaluable intracranial tumors, taletrectinib produced an intracranial ORR of 76.5% (95% CI, 50.1%-93.2%).
Study investigator Lyudmila Bazhenova, MD, FASCO, spoke with CancerNetwork® about the implications of these findings for the NSCLC treatment field, particularly as they relate to the use of molecular testing. Beyond the data affirming taletrectinib as an effective and tolerable therapeutic option for this NSCLC population, Bazhenova stated that the analysis indicated the importance of testing for actionable alterations in patient with stage IV disease, as ROS1 fusions can be easily missed with DNA testing alone.
Bazhenova is a board-certified medical oncologist and a professor of medicine at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center.
Transcript:
You cannot administer the medication unless you test [for alterations]. No. 1, [it’s] very important to make sure that you do molecular testing for your patients with lung cancer in stage IV. Another thing, which is very important, is to make sure you understand what type of testing is necessary. ROS1 fusions can be easily missed on a DNA testing. Even though I’m not highlighting the molecular testing in my presentation, it is important to make sure that we all understand that it is important. Currently, our penetration of molecular testing in the US is not at 100%, so there’s room for improvement.
The second [takeaway] is taletrectinib is a very effective oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor that should be considered for patients with ROS1-rearranged NSCLC.
Reference
Bazhenova L, Nieva J, Nagasaka M, et al. Taletrectinib in tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI)-naïve patients with ROS1+ non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC): Updated data from TRUST-I and TRUST-II. Presented at the 2026 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting; April 17-22, 2026; San Diego, CA. Abstract CT300.
