Response to Capmatinib in A Patient with Advanced Nsclc with Met Exon 14 Skipping Mutation and Sars-Cov-2 Infection: A Case Report

The approval and mainstreaming of targeted therapies have decreased the mortality of non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC). Notably, MET exon 14 (METex14) skipping mutations constitute driver alterations that occur in 3-4% of these cancers and capmatinib, a MET inhibitor, arrests cell proliferation when this mutation occurs; however, this agent has also shown antiviral activity against coronaviruses in preclinical studies. An 82-year-old man admitted with epileptic seizures and loss of consciousness was diagnosed with stage IVB NSCLC, harboring a METex14 skipping mutation. He underwent locoregional treatment for his brain metastases and systemic chemotherapy. The patient later developed a SARS-CoV-2 infection concomitant to his worsening NSCLC. He was then treated with remdesivir and capmatinib and eventually recovered from SARS-CoV-2 along with radiological and clinical NSCLC regression within two months of initiating capmatinib. This case highlights the clinical benefit of capmatinib in NSCLC with METex14 mutations in patients with SARS-CoV- 2 and the importance of testing for METex14 with DNA- and RNA-based methods as early as possible following advanced NSCLC diagnosis.