Tarlatamab-dlle: A New Hope for Patients with Extensive-Stage Small-Cell Lung Cancer

Abstract

Lung cancer is expected to contribute to about 0.234 million new cases and about 0.125 million mortalities in the United States in the year 2024. Small cell lung cancer (SCLC), a neuroendocrine carcinoma, has lesser prevalence but is more aggressive at an extensive stage where the tumor is not only confined to hemithorax, mediastinum, and supraclavicular region but spread beyond the supraclavicular region. The prognosis of SCLC, irrespective of the limited or extensive stage, is very poor. Only a 5-10% overall survival rate in five years is expected and with extensive-stage SCLC, long-term disease-free survival is rare. In May 2024, the USFDA approved Tarlatamab-dlle, a DLL3 targeted bi-specific T-cell engager, for treating extensive-stage SCLC in adult patients, on or after platinum-based chemotherapy or on progression. Before the approval of Tarlatamab-dlle, only a few drugs, such as Atezolizumab and Durvalumab, received FDA approval for treating extensive-stage SCLC. It might be possible that Tarlatamab-dlle received accelerated FDA approval for extensive-stage SCLC, leaving some questions unanswered at this stage. This manuscript is focused on clinical, pre-clinical, and other pharmacological aspects of Tarlatamab-dlle for extensive-stage SCLC.

Keywords: Bi-specific T-cell engager; DLL3-targeted; Extensive-stage; SCLC (small cell lung cancer); Tarlatamab-dlle.