The short answer
Xalkori (Crizotinib) is a targeted therapy called a kinase inhibitor. It blocks changed proteins (ALK or ROS1) that drive some lung cancers and other tumors, slowing their growth. It is used to help treat non-small cell lung cancer with an ALK or ROS1 change and some other tumors, and is usually given as capsules taken by mouth each day. Like all cancer medicines it can cause side effects; this page explains the common ones and the warning signs to report. It is educational only and not a substitute for your care team's advice.
Xalkori is the brand name; its generic name is crizotinib.
It is a targeted therapy called a kinase inhibitor — it blocks changed proteins (ALK or ROS1) that drive some lung cancers and other tumors, slowing their growth.
It is used to help treat non-small cell lung cancer with an ALK or ROS1 change and some other tumors.
It is usually given as capsules taken by mouth each day.
Choose how you want to read this
The whole article, with every detail and caution.
Crizotinib is a cancer medicine taken by mouth. Its brand name is Xalkori. This page is for people who have been prescribed it, and their families. It covers who it can help, how to take it, the side effects to watch for, and when to call for help.
Crizotinib works only on tumors with an ALK or ROS1 change
Xalkori is the brand name. Crizotinib is the generic name. It comes as capsules, and as oral pellets for children. It blocks two faulty proteins, ALK and ROS1. Neither is a normal part of adult lung tissue. They appear when a gene breaks and joins to a neighbour. The joined gene then drives the cancer.
This matters for who it helps. Without one of those changes, crizotinib has nothing to block. An FDA-approved test on tumor tissue, or sometimes on blood, is what decides. Ask which change was found in your tumor. The two are not the same, and treatment choices differ.
Which cancers it is used for
The label covers lung cancer and two rarer tumors.
- Non-small cell lung cancer that has spread, in adults, when the tumor is ALK-positive or ROS1-positive.
- Anaplastic large cell lymphoma that is ALK-positive and has come back or not responded, in children from age 1 and in young adults. The label notes that it has not been shown to work in older adults with this lymphoma.
- Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor that is ALK-positive and cannot be removed by surgery, or has come back, in adults and children from age 1.
How much is taken, and how to take it
For adults, the label's usual amount is 250 mg twice a day. But what your own prescription says is what you take. Kidney function, liver function and interacting medicines all change it. Children with lymphoma are dosed by body size, calculated by the oncology pharmacy.
That is the label's adult amount. Your own thoracic oncology team decides what you take. They often reduce it for eye, liver or heart-rhythm side effects.
Swallow whole, twice a day, with or without food. Do not adjust the dose yourself. Many medicines and grapefruit change how much crizotinib reaches your blood. So check before adding anything, including over-the-counter products and herbal remedies.
Vision changes in the first weeks
The next sections cover the side effects your team will watch for. Vision problems are among the most common effects, and they usually begin within a week of starting. Most people describe flashes, trailing lights, or blurring. These are often worst when moving between light and dark.
Serious loss of sight is rare. In lung cancer trials, a grade 4 visual field defect with vision loss occurred in 0.2% of 1,719 people.
Visual symptoms are reviewed at every visit. Children on this drug get full eye examinations on a fixed calendar the team sets: early, then repeating. Report any new visual symptom rather than waiting to see if it settles.
Effects on the liver, heart rate and lungs
Liver blood tests are checked frequently in the first two months and regularly after that. Blood counts are checked on their own schedule. Your team calendars both, and the appointments are how trouble gets caught early.
Crizotinib can also slow the heart. So pulse and blood pressure are monitored, and other medicines that slow the heart may need reviewing. It can lengthen the QT interval on an ECG (a heart rhythm tracing).
Lung inflammation is the rarest of these but the most urgent. New breathlessness, a new cough, or a fever needs assessing quickly. It can look like a chest infection and be something else.
If the cancer starts growing again
ALK-positive and ROS1-positive cancers often respond well at first and then start growing again. Several newer drugs aimed at the same targets are now approved. If scans change, that is a conversation about the next option, not the end of the road.
When to get help sooner
Some symptoms should not wait for your next visit. Use this list to decide how fast to call.
- Call 911 or go to an emergency department if you become suddenly breathless at rest, your chest hurts, or you faint or feel about to faint with a very slow pulse. Do not drive yourself.
- Call your care team right away if a cough or breathlessness is new or getting worse, especially with a temperature of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher, if part of your sight disappears, or if your skin or eyes look yellow, your urine turns dark, or your stomach aches under the right ribs.
- Call your care team within a day or two if you start seeing flashes, trailing lights or blurring.
Sources
https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=2a51b0de-47d6-455e-a94c-d2c737b04ff7
https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/drugs/crizotinib
Common questions
What is Xalkori?
Xalkori (Crizotinib) is a targeted therapy called a kinase inhibitor. It blocks changed proteins (ALK or ROS1) that drive some lung cancers and other tumors, slowing their growth. It is used to help treat non-small cell lung cancer with an ALK or ROS1 change and some other tumors.
How is Xalkori given?
It is usually given as capsules taken by mouth each day. It is taken as pills or capsules by mouth, often once or twice a day at home. Take it exactly as prescribed and ask your team before stopping or changing it. The exact schedule is set by your care team.
What are the common side effects of Xalkori?
Commonly reported side effects include vision changes, nausea, diarrhea, swelling, and tiredness. Not everyone gets them, and many can be managed. Tell your care team about anything new or worsening.
Does Xalkori cure cancer?
That depends on the person, the cancer type, and its stage. For some people a medicine like this can control cancer for a long time or be part of a curative plan; for others the goal is to slow the cancer or ease symptoms. Your care team can explain the goal in your situation.
Questions to ask your doctor
Being prepared helps you get the most out of your appointments. Save or print these questions.
Tap a question to save it to your list (kept on this device).
Talk with a trained specialist or navigator
Cancer Explained provides educational guidance, but does not replace trained specialists, social workers, or your medical team.
Talk to a trained cancer information specialist
Free, confidential assistance from NCI Cancer Information Service via phone, chat, or email.
Contact your oncology team
Locate after-hours contact numbers, portal messages, or urgent triage phone lines.
Find a patient navigator
Get one-on-one help with appointments, logistics, translation, and care coordination.
Find a genetic counselor
Discuss inherited mutation risk, family history, and genetic testing options.
Find an oncology social worker
Access emotional counseling, family support groups, and mental health resources.
Find a financial navigator
Locate copay assistance foundations, grant programs, and lodging/travel support.
Find a clinical-trial specialist
Search matching studies and speak with NCI trial information specialists.
Get urgent help
Fever of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher during chemo, severe pain, or trouble breathing: call your cancer care team right away, day or night. Call 911 for an emergency.
Know someone who needs this?
Plenty of people are looking for something like this and do not know where to start. If this would help a friend or someone you love, send it on — we have written an opening line so you do not have to stare at an empty message. You can change every word of it.
Your message is written and sent in your own email or messaging app — we never see who you send it to, and nothing is added to any list.
Plain-language explanation of the published sources cited on this page. AI-assisted, source-checked, not clinician-reviewed.
Sources last checked: 2026-07-14 what this meansLast updated: 2026-09-29Next planned review: 2027-01-14
Review details and limits
Cancer Explained does not originate medical claims. Every page restates guidance already published by the National Cancer Institute, the CDC, the USPSTF and the FDA, in plain language, with the source cited so you can check the original yourself. AI does the translating and organizing; automated checks test claims, citations, clarity and safety before anything publishes, and this is translation and navigation, not clinical judgment. Nothing here is personal medical advice, and no page can account for your particular situation.
Editorial status — Editorial review complete. This page completed Cancer Explained's editorial checks (sources, safety, plain language, duplication). It has not been reviewed by a physician or other healthcare professional.
General education — varies by person. Answers genuinely differ between people. This page explains what commonly varies and points you to your care team for your situation.
Human medical review: not completed. Pages here are not signed off by a clinician before they publish. That is not an oversight we are quietly working around: we restate published guidance and cite it, so the authority belongs to the source rather than to us, and every page names where its claims come from — you can verify us instead of trusting us. Where a volunteer clinician has reviewed a page, their name and credentials appear on it; where no name appears, no clinician has checked it. We are glad to have reviewers and are recruiting them, and we do not hold pages back waiting for one. Use this site to understand your situation and to ask better questions of the people treating you.
Words to know
Tap any term to see what it means.
Knowledge check
0 of 2 answered
This self-assessment checks understanding of educational content only. It is not medical advice.
How this page was created
Cancer Explained does not originate medical claims. Every page restates guidance already published by the National Cancer Institute, the CDC, the USPSTF and the FDA, in plain language, with the source cited so you can check the original yourself. AI does the translating and organizing; automated checks test claims, citations, clarity and safety before anything publishes, and this is translation and navigation, not clinical judgment. Nothing here is personal medical advice, and no page can account for your particular situation.
Editorial status: Editorial review complete — This page completed Cancer Explained's editorial checks (sources, safety, plain language, duplication). It has not been reviewed by a physician or other healthcare professional.
Human medical review: not completed. Pages here are not signed off by a clinician before they publish. That is not an oversight we are quietly working around: we restate published guidance and cite it, so the authority belongs to the source rather than to us, and every page names where its claims come from — you can verify us instead of trusting us. Where a volunteer clinician has reviewed a page, their name and credentials appear on it; where no name appears, no clinician has checked it. We are glad to have reviewers and are recruiting them, and we do not hold pages back waiting for one. Use this site to understand your situation and to ask better questions of the people treating you.
Read more about our editorial process, our use of AI, and our corrections policy.
Spotted a problem? Report an error — a factual mistake, broken or outdated source, confusing wording, or anything that seems unsafe. Please do not include names, medical record numbers, dates of birth, addresses, or other identifying medical information in your report.
After using this page, do you understand what to do next?
Anonymous — we only record the answer, never who gave it.