Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) represents the paradigm of personalized 
treatment in human cancer. Several oncogenic alterations with druggable 
potential have been identified, with ALK rearrangements representing one of the 
newest and most appealing. Crizotinib is now recognized as the standard of care 
in chemotherapy-pretreated ALK-positive NSCLC due to the positive results of a 
recently published trial. Unfortunately, no patient exposed to crizotinib can be 
cured, and after a median time of 1 year, resistance inevitably occurs. 
Overcoming resistance is the major challenge in clinical oncology and many 
molecules are currently under evaluation, including ceritinib (LDK-378). 
Ceritinib is an oral, potent, second-generation ALK inhibitor recently approved 
by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Preclinical data showed impressive 
antitumor activity against crizotinib-resistant clones, and based on available 
data, ceritinib could represent a suitable option in crizotinib-resistant NSCLC.