Clinical characteristics and targeted therapy of different gene fusions in non-small cell lung cancer: a narrative review

Background and Objective: Lung cancer is the most fatal malignant tumor in the world.Since the discovery of driver genes, targeted therapy has been demonstrated to be superior to traditional chemotherapy and has revolutionized the therapeutic landscape of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).The remarkable success of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations and anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) fusions has shifted the treatment from platinum-based combination chemotherapy to targeted therapy.Although the incidence rate of gene fusion is low in NSCLC, it is of great significance in advanced refractory patients.However, the clinical characteristics and the latest treatment progress of patients with gene fusions in lung cancer have not been thoroughly explored.The objective of this narrative review was to summarize the latest research progress of targeted therapy for gene fusion variants in NSCLC to improve understanding for clinicians.