Systematic literature review of epidemiology, clinical characteristics, and outcomes of MET exon 14 skipping in NSCLC

MET exon 14 skipping is a rare oncogenic driver in NSCLC. A systematic review of the literature found that the frequency of METex14 skipping among unselected NSCLC populations was 2.0% (2.4% in adenocarcinoma or non-squamous histology; 1,3% in squamous histology). Patients with METex14 skipping were more likely to be elderly and have adenocarcinoma histology; there was no marked sex or smoking status distribution. In frist line of treatment, median objective response rate ranged from 50.7%-68.8% with targeted therapy, 33.3% with immunotherapy, and 23.1%-27.0% with chemotherapy. The authors conclude that METex14 skipping patients are more likely to have certain characteristics, but no patient subgroup can be ruled out. It is crucial to test all NSCLC patients for the mutation to identify candidates for MET inhibitor therapy.