What to Know About Jideytro for Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)

Written by Beth Johnston, BCPS, PharmD
Medically Reviewed by Rachel Maynard, PharmD on August 31, 2026

A diagnosis of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) can bring a lot of questions. The FDA approved Jideytro (zidesamtinib) in 2026. It belongs to a group of medicines known as kinase inhibitors. 

Jideytro is an oral medicine approved for certain adults with advanced NSCLC who have already received treatment with another type of cancer medicine. 

Below are answers to common questions about Jideytro for advanced NSCLC, including who it may be right for and what to expect during treatment. For details about possible side effects or drug interactions, see this article.

Jideytro is not right for everyone. To help decide if Jideytro is an option for you, your health care provider will consider the type of lung cancer you have, how much it has spread, and which treatments you have already tried.

Jideytro is FDA-approved for adults with NSCLC that meets all of the following requirements:

  • The cancer is ROS1-positive, which means a test has found an abnormal ROS1 gene in the cancer.
  • The cancer is advanced, meaning it is locally advanced (has spread to nearby tissue) or metastatic (has spread to other parts of the body).
  • You have already been treated with another ROS1 medicine, called a ROS1 kinase inhibitor, before starting Jideytro.

Your health care provider can test your cancer for an abnormal ROS1 gene.

Jideytro is a type of targeted cancer medicine called a kinase inhibitor.

In ROS1-positive NSCLC, cancer cells have an abnormal ROS1 gene, which makes an overactive ROS1 protein. This protein acts like a stuck “on” switch, sending signals that tell the cancer cells to keep growing and dividing.

Jideytro works by blocking the ROS1 protein. This turns off the growth signal, which can slow cancer growth or cause cancer cells to die. Jideytro is also designed to block certain changes (mutations) in ROS1 that can develop over time and cause earlier ROS1 medicines to stop working.

Jideytro does not cure NSCLC, but it may help slow cancer growth.

Jideytro is a tablet that you take by mouth. It comes in two strengths: 25-milligram (mg) and 10-mg tablets. The usual recommended dose is 100 mg taken once a day.

Here are some important tips for taking Jideytro:

  • Take Jideytro exactly as your health care provider tells you to. Do not change your dose or stop taking Jideytro unless your provider tells you to.
  • Take Jideytro at about the same time each day. You can take it with or without food.
  • Swallow the tablets whole. Do not split, chew, crush, or dissolve the tablet. If you have a tablet that is broken, cracked, or damaged, you should not take it.
  • If you miss a dose and it has been less than 12 hours since your usual time, take the missed dose as soon as you can. If it has been 12 hours or more, skip the missed dose and take your next dose at its regular time.
  • If you throw up at any time after taking Jideytro, do not take an extra dose. Take your next dose when you normally should.

Your health care provider may temporarily pause your treatment or lower your dose if you have certain side effects. You should not stop or change the dose on your own without your health care provider telling you to do so. 

You will usually keep taking Jideytro as long as it is helping control your cancer and the side effects are manageable.

Jideytro was studied in a clinical trial called ARROS-1. The FDA approved Jideytro based on a group of 117 adults with ROS1-positive locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC. Everyone in this group had already been treated with at least one other ROS1 medicine (a ROS1 kinase inhibitor).

This was a single-arm, open-label study. That means everyone in the group received Jideytro (there was no separate comparison group), so both the participants and investigators knew what everyone was taking. All participants had a ROS1 gene change confirmed by lab testing. Everyone took Jideytro 100 mg once a day until their cancer got worse or side effects became too severe.

Here are some details about the 117 study participants at the beginning of the study:

  • The median age was 57 years, meaning about half of the participants were younger and half were older, and ages ranged from 31 to 83 years.
  • About 56% were female, and 44% were male.
  • About 47% were White, 36% were Asian, and 4% were Black or African American; race was unknown or other for about 13%.
  • About 68% had never smoked.
  • Everyone had cancer that had spread, and about half (49%) had cancer that had spread to the brain.
  • About half had received one prior ROS1 medicine, and about half had received two or more.

During the study, participants had regular imaging scans to check their tumors, about every eight weeks for the first 18 months and every 12 weeks after that.

The main things the study measured were how many people’s tumors shrank (called the response rate) and how long those responses lasted (called the duration of response).

Among the 117 participants, about 44% had their tumors shrink or disappear on scans (a confirmed response). For about 1% of people, the tumors could no longer be seen on scans (a complete response). These responses tended to last. Among the people who responded:

  • About 82% still had a response at six months.
  • About 69% still had a response at 12 months.
  • Response lasted from about two months to more than 28 months, and some were still ongoing when the results were measured.

Results were also looked at in specific groups:

  • Among people who had received one prior ROS1 medicine, about 49% had their tumors shrink. 
  • Among those who had received two or more prior ROS1 medicines, about 38% had their tumors shrink.

Cancer that had spread to the brain also responded. Among 50 people with brain tumors that could be measured, about 48% had their brain tumors shrink, including about 22% whose brain tumors could no longer be seen.

Jideytro also worked in some cancers that had developed changes, making them resistant to earlier ROS1 medicines. About half of these people had their tumors shrink.

Jideytro does not cure NSCLC, but it may help slow the growth of cancer. Keep in mind that your results may be different from those seen in the study.

Jideytro starts working in your body soon after your first dose, but how long it takes to see a response can vary from person to person. In the ARROS-1 study, participants had imaging scans to check their tumors every eight weeks during the first 18 months of treatment.

This means it may take several weeks or months before your health care provider can tell from scans how well the treatment is working. Your response may be faster or slower than someone else’s. Your health care provider will monitor your cancer during treatment and let you know how well Jideytro is working for you.

The drugmaker of Jideytro offers a cost assistance program. It may allow a copay as low as $0 for some people, based on eligibility. Eligibility may depend on factors such as your insurance coverage. For more information and to see if you qualify, you can visit their website or call 844-688-5333.

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