RET-positive Stage IV lung cancer: targeted therapy stopped after severe side effects
This lung cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Stage at diagnosis
- Stage IV
- Subtype
- Adenocarcinoma
- Biomarkers
- RET fusion
- Sex
- Female
- Spread to
- brain|bone
- Treatment
- targeted therapy and supportive care
- Outcome
- Living With Cancer
Treatment course, step by step
- She started selpercatinib for RET-positive Stage IV lung cancer.
- Treatment was interrupted several times because of severe side effects, including recurrent gallbladder inflammation.
- Selpercatinib was permanently stopped after the side effects returned, and she was transferred for supportive care.
What happened, in summary
An 84-year-old Japanese woman was diagnosed with Stage IV lung adenocarcinoma after an abnormal chest image led to further testing. The cancer had already spread to the sacrum and several areas of the brain. Tumor testing found a RET fusion, giving her a targeted treatment option.
She started selpercatinib. Within the first weeks, she developed fever and a severe rash, so treatment was stopped and later restarted at a lower dose. Soon after restarting, she developed painful inflammation of the gallbladder without gallstones. Her symptoms improved when selpercatinib was stopped.
She wanted to try treatment again, but the gallbladder inflammation returned along with other serious side effects. Selpercatinib was then permanently discontinued. Despite receiving the drug for less than 30 days in total, scans showed early shrinkage of the lung tumor and brain metastases.
Because no further dose reduction was possible, her care shifted to supportive treatment and she was transferred to another facility.
Where this story comes from
This is a lay summary of an account first published by PMC / PubMed Central. Read the original in full
How we source and attribute stories Accuracy and limitations
Collections this story belongs to
- Stage 4 Lung Cancer 384 stories
- Supportive Care for Stage 4 Lung Cancer 72 stories
- Supportive Care for Lung Cancer 142 stories
These are lay summaries of published cancer stories, for information only. No two cancers behave the same way, and nothing here predicts your own diagnosis or replaces advice from your oncology team. Read the full disclaimer