What is Retevmo (selpercatinib)? When is Retevmo (selpercatinib) used?
Retevmo (selpercatinib) is a highly selective receptor tyrosine kinase RET inhibitor and is approved for treating three RET gene-driven cancer types:
Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and
Two forms of thyroid cancer that evolved from RET alterations:
Medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC)
Other than MTC, among which, the most common is papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC).
Alterations in the RET gene cause RET-driven cancers, and the two most common types of RET gene alterations are RET gene fusions and RET gene point mutations.
For what is Retevmo (selpercatinib) used?
Retevmo is used to treat metastatic RET fusion-positive non-small cell lung cancer, advanced RET-mutant medullary thyroid cancer, and papillary thyroid carcinoma.
How does Retevmo (selpercatinib) work?
Retevmo (selpercatinib) is a kinase inhibitor.
How do you take Retevmo (selpercatinib)?
Retevmo is used orally, usually two times a day, with or without food. According to the instructions, up to 400mg daily, depending on prescription and body weight. The recommended dosage of 160 mg orally twice daily [citation].
The dosage of Retevmo (selpercatinib) is twice daily, while for Gavreto (pralsetinib), the dosage is orally once a day. Both Retevmo (selpercatinib) and Gavreto (pralsetinib) are taken orally.
How effective is Retevmo (selpercatinib)?
The overall response rates to treatment were:
64–85% in patients with RET-fusion-positive NSCLC
69–73% in patients with RET-mutant medullary thyroid cancer, and
75–79% in patients with RET-fusion-positive thyroid cancer [citation].
How long do you take Retevmo (selpercatinib)?
Among the 702 patients who received Retevmo (selpercatinib), 65% were exposed for six months or longer, and 34% were exposed for greater than one year. Among these patients, 95% received at least one dose of Retevmo (selpercatinib) at the recommended dosage of 160 mg orally twice daily [citation].