We’re delighted to announce that a new drug, larotrectinib, has been approved for the treatment of certain sarcomas in England. ‘Sarcoma UK welcomes today’s approval of larotrectinib. Made available for use by the Cancer Drugs Fund and approved by NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) larotrectinib is a new type of ‘histologically-independent’ drug that targets tumours based on their genetic makeup. It works by targeting the specific NTKR genetic abnormality in tumours meaning patients are treated according to the genetics of their tumour rather than where it is in the body.

Although larotrectinib is only approved for the treatment of cancers with NTRK gene fusions, treatment was started and led to a shrinkage of the primary tumor as well as the liver and lung metastases within 6 weeks according to RECIST criteria accompanied by tumor marker decrease....This case suggests that larotrectinib is not only effective in NTRK fusions but may be efficacious in cases with gene amplification.