EvidenceKRAS G12C-mutant non-small-cell lung cancer

Useful for a patient offered adagrasib after chemotherapy or immunotherapy who wants the trial explained without jargon. It adds no new data; the primary KRYSTAL-12 publication and the trial page remain the reference for the numbers.

Patients with KRAS G12C lung cancer that has progressed after chemo-immunotherapy can take an oral KRAS inhibitor instead of docetaxel and gain a somewhat longer time to progression with fewer severe side effects, but should understand that most tumours become resistant within a year and that survival is not improved. KRAS G12C testing is worthwhile, but first-generation inhibitors are a step rather than a cure; combinations and next-generation inhibitors are the active research fronts.

The most frequently mutated oncogene in cancer stopped being undruggable, and patients with KRAS G12C lung and bowel cancers now have targeted pills. The approach, exploiting a mutation-created chemical handle and an inactive-state pocket, has become a template for other hard targets.