ALK and non-small cell lung carcinoma: In the phase III ALEX trial, which compared alectinib with crizotinib as first-line treatment in 303 adult patients with advanced ALK+ NSCLC, alectinib demonstrated superior PFS, CNS activity, delayed CNS progression and lower toxicity than crizotinib, irrespective of prior CNS disease or radiotherapy, or type of ALK variant [13, 14].