Stage 4 lung adenocarcinoma with RET fusion responding to pralsetinib

Patient Info: Anonymized, Male, 60s | Stage IV

Biomarkers: RET fusion

Metastatic Site: pleura

As of March 2025, he had recovered from grade 3 Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia, restarted pralsetinib, and had no progressive disease or recurrence of adverse events over 13 months.

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Stage IV ALK Lung Cancer: Sydney's Patient Story

Patient Info: Sydney Barned, Female, Under 40 | Stage IV

Biomarkers: ALK-rearranged

Metastatic Site: brain

Living with Stage IV ALK-positive lung cancer. She had about 5.5 years of disease control on her first targeted therapy, then developed 3 brain metastases in September 2022 and switched to another targeted therapy. As of February 2025, she was working full-time and continuing treatment.

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Recurrent lung adenocarcinoma: sick sinus syndrome during anlotinib treatment

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female, 70+

Biomarkers: driver genes negative

Recurrent/progressive lung adenocarcinoma was being treated with anlotinib when sick sinus syndrome developed; the patient received a permanent pacemaker and remained alive under follow-up, but post-pacemaker cancer status was not fully reported.

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Stage 4 RET-rearranged lung cancer: complete pathologic response to pralsetinib

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female, 60s | Stage IV

Biomarkers: KIF5B-RET rearrangement; TP53 missense mutation; PD-L1-negative; CK7-positive; TTF-1-positive; Ki-67 70%

Metastatic Site: pleura, mediastinal lymph nodes, hilar lymph nodes

After pralsetinib response and surgery, pathology showed no residual viable tumor in the lung primary, pleural nodules, or sampled lymph nodes; she continued adjuvant pralsetinib.

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Lung Adenocarcinoma With Rare Skin Metastasis to the Neck

Patient Info: Anonymized, male, 50s | Stage IV

Metastatic Site: neck skin

The lung cancer later spread to the neck skin, and he died during the following year after stopping further treatment.

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Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer With ERBB2 and TP53 Mutations

Patient Info: Anonymized, male, 50s | Stage IV

Biomarkers: ERBB2 exon 20 Y772-A775dup mutation; TP53 mutation; PD-L1 TPS 0%

Metastatic Site: liver, bone, both lungs

Imaging after treatment showed stable disease, and he remained in good condition while continuing maintenance pemetrexed and bevacizumab.

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ALK-Fusion Small Cell Lung Cancer Responding to ALK-Targeted Therapy

Patient Info: Anonymized, female, 40s | Stage IV

Biomarkers: EML4-ALK fusion

Metastatic Site: brain

After several earlier treatments stopped controlling the cancer, ALK-targeted iruplinalkib produced a partial response and was still controlling disease after more than 8 months.

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EGFR-positive NSCLC: erlotinib rash managed without stopping targeted therapy

Patient Info: Anonymized, Male, 60s

Biomarkers: EGFR-positive

Severe erlotinib-associated rash resolved with low-dose IVIG and dilute stem-cell therapy, allowing erlotinib to continue; tumor response and formal cancer stage were not reported.

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Stage II ALK Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Stephanie's Survivor Story

Patient Info: Stephanie, Female | Stage II

Biomarkers: ALK-rearranged

As of January 2025, Stephanie had clean scans and bloodwork for 3 years after Stage IIB ALK-positive lung adenocarcinoma treated with surgery, 4 rounds of chemotherapy, and ongoing daily targeted therapy.

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Metastatic Lung Adenocarcinoma With a Serious Immune-Therapy Pituitary Complication

Patient Info: Anonymized, male, 60s | Stage IV

Biomarkers: No detected EGFR, ALK, ROS1, RET, MET or HER2 alterations

Metastatic Site: brain, meninges, skull, bone, pituitary

The cancer had progressed to extensive brain, skull and bone involvement after several treatments. Steroid treatment improved the severe thirst, high urine output and other symptoms from immune-related hypophysitis.

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Stage II ALK Lung Adenocarcinoma: Stephanie's Patient Story

Patient Info: Stephanie Williams, Female | Stage II

Biomarkers: ALK-rearranged

Stephanie had clean scans nearly 3 years after diagnosis but remained on daily ALK-targeted therapy to reduce recurrence risk.

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Stage IV Squamous Lung Cancer Complicated by an Esophageal-Mediastinal Fistula

Patient Info: Anonymized, male, 70+ | Stage IV

Metastatic Site: brain, bone

Four months after the fistula was treated conservatively, imaging showed the fistula had resolved and the lung tumor and metastatic hilar nodes had decreased despite no additional antitumor treatment during that interval.

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Therapy-related acute promyelocytic leukemia during lung cancer treatment

Patient Info: Anonymized, Male, 70+

Biomarkers: Therapy-related APL with t and PML/RARA fusion; CD33 positive

The patient died 6 hours after symptom onset on day 6 of induction therapy for therapy-related acute promyelocytic leukemia.

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ALK-Positive Metastatic Lung Cancer Responding to Lorlatinib During Hemodialysis

Patient Info: Anonymized, female, 70+ | Stage IV

Biomarkers: ALK rearrangement 80%; EGFR and BRAF negative; ROS1 negative; PD-L1 negative

Metastatic Site: brain

After about 1 year of lorlatinib, imaging was almost compatible with a complete response, brain MRI showed no active lesions, and she continued treatment with manageable high cholesterol as the main reported side effect.

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MET Y1003N-Mutant Lung Adenocarcinoma Responding to Tepotinib

Patient Info: Anonymized, female, 60s | Stage IV

Biomarkers: MET mutation

Metastatic Site: bone

Tepotinib produced an 8-month response after many earlier treatments, but the cancer later recurred and she died about 3 years after treatment began.

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EGFR-Mutant Lung Cancer With Pleomorphic Transformation Treated With Local Surgery

Patient Info: Anonymized, female, 60s | Stage IV

Biomarkers: EGFR L858R mutation; PD-L1 less than 1% initially and greater than 75% after transformation

Metastatic Site: brain

Nine months after surgery for isolated progression, no recurrence had been seen and she remained on osimertinib.

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Stage IV ALK Lung Adenocarcinoma: Shirley's Patient Story

Patient Info: Shirley, Female, Under 40 | Stage IV

Biomarkers: ALK mutation

As of December 2024, Shirley was living with Stage IV ALK-positive lung adenocarcinoma and had stable disease on a fourth-generation ALK inhibitor clinical trial that began in July 2024.

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How Clinical Trials Helped Me Fight Stage 4 Cancer

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female | Stage IV

Biomarkers: ALK-positive / ALK-rearranged

Metastatic Site: Not specified

As of December 2024, this anonymized patient described living 10.5 years with Stage IV non-small cell lung cancer and said her current clinical-trial treatment was working, with tumors shrinking.

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ROS1-Positive Stage III Lung Adenocarcinoma With Pathologic Complete Response

Patient Info: Anonymized, male, 40s | Stage III

Biomarkers: ROS1 fusion-positive

Surgery found no residual cancer cells or involved lymph nodes, and no recurrence was detected during 10 months of crizotinib treatment and follow-up.

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Doctors Assured Me It Wasn’t Cancer!

Patient Info: Shirley, Female, Under 40 | Stage IV

Biomarkers: ALK-rearranged

Metastatic Site: mediastinum, pleura

Shirley was living with Stage IV ALK-positive lung cancer on a phase 2 ALK clinical trial; scans remained stable after 2 scan sets, but the large mass persisted.

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Small Cell Lung Cancer With Paraneoplastic Cushing Syndrome Treated With Immunochemotherapy

Patient Info: Anonymized, male, 60s | Stage IV

Biomarkers: PD-L1 negative; low tumor mutation burden; microsatellite stable

Metastatic Site: liver, abdominal wall, left ilium

He lived 20 months after diagnosis. After repeated treatment responses and later progression, he died in September 2023 from respiratory and cardiac failure during a severe infection following treatment-related myelosuppression.

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Lung Cancer: Jill's Patient Story

Patient Info: Jill Feldman, Female

Biomarkers: Biomarker testing performed; specific personal biomarker not reported

As of December 2024, Jill described living with lung cancer for 15 years and credited biomarker testing and targeted therapies with helping her live longer, although no current NED status was stated.

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Stage IV lung adenocarcinoma: ROS1 fusion detected after immunotherapy resistance and partial response to entrectinib

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female, 60s | Stage IV

Biomarkers: Initial lung adenocarcinoma markers supported lung origin; PD-L1 <1%, no target found at first. Later testing found CD74-ROS1 fusion.

Metastatic Site: brain, bilateral lung lesions

As of December 2024, repeat imaging after entrectinib showed partial response in lung disease and regression of brain metastases, with the patient stable and willing to continue treatment.

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Stage IV EGFR Lung Cancer: Leah's Patient Story

Patient Info: Leah Phillips, Female, 40s | Stage IV

Biomarkers: EGFR mutation

Metastatic Site: Not reported

As of December 2024, Leah was recovering well a few weeks after right-middle-lobe lobectomy, but remained a Stage IV EGFR-mutated lung cancer patient needing ongoing treatment and follow-up.

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