Three quarters of patients with a wide variety of advanced cancers responded to a Loxo Oncology therapy that targets a specific genetic defect, according to data from a small study presented on Saturday at the year’s most important oncology meeting.
The drug, larotrectinib, directly targets an acquired rather than inherited genetic defect called TRK fusions. In such patients, TRK genes abnormally attach to other genes, triggering accelerated cancer cell growth.
