Combinations for the treatment of cancer

Abstract

Described herein are combinations comprising a therapeutically effective amount of a first agent and a therapeutically effective amount of a second agent, wherein the first agent is an inhibitor of ALK, ROS1, TrkA, TrkB, or TrkC activity, or a combination thereof, and methods of using such combinations in the treatment of patients having cancer.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of treating cancer in a patient in need thereof, the method comprising administering to the patient a combination comprising a therapeutically effective amount of a first agent and a therapeutically effective amount of a second agent, wherein the first agent is an ALK inhibitor; and the second agent is a MEK inhibitor or an ERK inhibitor. 
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the patient has at least one mutation in the ALK receptor tyrosine kinase polypeptide. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the at least one mutation in the ALK receptor tyrosine kinase polypeptide is at a position corresponding to amino acid residue G1202 or G1269 of the ALK polypeptide set forth in SEQ ID NO: 4. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the at least one mutation in the ALK receptor tyrosine kinase polypeptide is at the position corresponding to amino acid residue G1202 of the ALK polypeptide set forth in SEQ ID NO: 4. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the at least one mutation in the ALK receptor tyrosine kinase polypeptide is at the position corresponding to amino acid residue G1269 of the ALK polypeptide set forth in SEQ ID NO: 4. 
     
     
         6 . A method of treating cancer in a patient in need thereof, the method comprising administering to the patient a combination comprising a therapeutically effective amount of a first agent and a therapeutically effective amount of a second agent, wherein the first agent is a ROS1 inhibitor; the second agent is a MEK inhibitor or an ERK inhibitor. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the patient has at least one mutation in the ROS1 receptor tyrosine kinase polypeptide. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the at least one mutation in the ROS1 receptor tyrosine kinase polypeptide is at a position corresponding to amino acid residue G2032 or G2101 of the ROS1 polypeptide set forth in SEQ ID NO: 5. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the at least one mutation in the ROS1 receptor tyrosine kinase polypeptide is at the position corresponding to amino acid residue G2032 of the ROS1 polypeptide set forth in SEQ ID NO: 5. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the at least one mutation in the ROS1 receptor tyrosine kinase polypeptide is at the position corresponding to amino acid residue G2101 of the ROS1 polypeptide set forth in SEQ ID NO: 5.