AXL and non-small cell lung carcinoma: Although recent studies demonstrated that AXL may also play an important role in noncancer cells, including neurons, endothelial cells, and immune cells, with roles in homeostasis, angiogenesis, neurogenesis, and innate immunity that may raise concern for potential haematologic and/or immune side effects17–19, a series of AXL-targeted small-molecule inhibitors have been investigated in preclinical and clinical trials, including R428 and BPI-9016M, which showed favourable safety and pharmacokinetic profiles in NSCLC patients20,21.