This study characterizes the real-world treatment patterns and outcomes for patients treated with ALK inhibitors within the timeline of new ALK inhibitor drug approvals and indications.

Patients received 1–4 ALK inhibitors during the study period. In patients who were able to receive multiple lines of treatment, longer therapy duration and survival were observed in patients who were able to receive sequential ALK inhibitors.

A considerable proportion of the patients were treated with chemotherapy before ALK inhibitor treatment, suggesting the opportunity to improve biomarker testing strategies to identify the patients who would benefit from ALK inhibitors.