Dr. Owonikoko on the Efficacy of Selpercatinib in Pre-Treated and Untreated RET+ Thyroid Cancer

Taofeek Owonikoko MD, PhD, MSCR, a professor and vice chair for faculty development in the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Emory University School of Medicine, and co-leader of the Discovery & Developmental Therapeutics Program at Winship Cancer Institute, discusses the efficacy of selpercatinib (Retevmo) in pre-treated and treatment-naive patients with RET fusion–positive medullary thyroid cancer.

Selpercatinib was examined as part of the phase 1/2 LIBRETTO-001 trial (NCT03157128) in patients with RET fusion–positive thyroid cancer, which was well conducted, given the challenges that come with conducting research in a rare tumor type, Owonikoko says. While it would have been ideal to have tested the agent in a randomized, controlled trial, LIBRETTO-001 yielded promising data in multiple patient cohorts, Owonikoko explains.

Selpercatinib, as well as pralsetinib (Gavreto), works well in patients who are treatment naive and in those who have been pre-treated with multikinase agents. Moreover, selpercatinib and pralsetinib should be used in the earliest line of treatment possible, Owonikoko says. Regardless of whether a patient is treatment naive or has been previously exposed to other drugs, both selpercatinib and pralsetinib are effective therapies in addition to being better tolerated than other agents in the space, Owonikoko concludes.