Adagrasib in KRYSTAL-12 has Broken the KRASG12C Enigma Code in Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma

Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog <i>(KRAS)</i> ^G12C-mutant non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) accounts for approximately 10-13% of advanced nonsquamous NSCLC cases in Western populations, presenting a significant therapeutic challenge owing to the difficulty of directly targeting KRAS. Adagrasib, an oral small-molecule covalent inhibitor, irreversibly and selectively targets KRAS^G12C in its inactive state. It received accelerated Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval on December 12, 2022, following the KRYSTAL-1 Phase II trial. The Phase III KRYSTAL-12 trial demonstrated that adagrasib significantly improved median progression-free survival (mPFS) compared with docetaxel (HR, 0.58; 95% CI: 0.45-0.76; P<0.0001) and increased the intracranial objective response rate (ORR) to 40% in the central nervous system (CNS) evaluable population. This paper evaluates the clinical efficacy of adagrasib in <i>KRAS</i> ^G12C-mutated advanced NSCLC discussing its potential advantages over other inhibitors such as sotorasib. Despite not reaching the 6-month mPFS benchmark, adagrasib offers significant clinical benefits, particularly for the management of CNS metastases. In this pros and cons debate, we argue that adagrasib has broken the <i>KRAS</i> ^G12C enigma code in NSCLC.