Term: Alecensa

Pronunciation: (A-leh-SEN-suh)

Description:

A drug used to treat adults with certain types of non-small cell lung cancer that are ALK positive. It used in patients whose cancer has spread to other parts of the body. It is also used to help keep cancer from coming back in patients whose cancer was removed by surgery. Alecensa is also being studied in the treatment of other types of cancer. Alecensa blocks certain proteins made by the ALK gene, which may help keep cancer cells from growing. It is a type of tyrosine kinase inhibitor. Also called alectinib.