Dr. Sydney Barned at AACR: Nine-Plus Years Living With Stage IV ALK-Positive Lung Cancer on Targeted Pills Alone

Dr. Sydney Barned described her stage IV ALK-rearranged lung cancer journey at an AACR talk, after initial misdiagnosis as pneumonia or stage I disease and PET evidence of pleural involvement. A first-generation ALK inhibitor kept her stable for 5.5 years; after oligoprogression in 2022 with 3 brain metastases, switching to a second-generation inhibitor resolved the lesions and she has remained stable for nearly 4 years. Over nine years she has used oral targeted therapy alone, with no chemotherapy, radiotherapy or surgery, and she credits research funding with directly extending patients' functional survival.