Afatinib reverses ceritinib resistance (CR) in ALK/ROS1-positive non-small-cell lung cancer cell (NSCLC) via suppression of NRG1 pathway

Background Lung cancer (LC) is the most prevalent malignancy worldwide, and non-small-cell LC (NSCLC) cell is associated with high mortality. As a member of the second generation of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) suppressors, ceritinib has considerable therapeutic effects for ALK and c-ros oncogene 1 (ROS1)-positive NSCLC cell. Nevertheless, patients inevitably develop resistance to the drug. Our research focused on the exploration of whether afatinib was able to counteract ceritinib resistance (CR) in NSCLC cells with positive ALK or ROS1.