ALK immunohistochemistry positive, FISH negative NSCLC is infrequent, but associated with impaired survival following treatment with crizotinib

In 2007, the first anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) fusion was described in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)[1]. In 2013, a phase 3 study demonstrated a significant improvement in progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in patients with metastasized ALK positive lung cancer treated with crizotinib compared to chemotherapy[2]. Subsequently, testing for ALK aberrations in patients with metastasized adenocarcinoma of the lung was recommended by international guidelines [3,4].

Source: Lung Cancer - October 2, 2019 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: E. Thunnissen, B.I. Lissenberg-Witte, M.M. van den Heuvel, K. Monkhorst, B.G. Skov, J.B. S ørensen, A. Mellemgaard, A.M.C. Dingemans, E.J.M. Speel, A.J. de Langen, S.M.S. Hashemi, I. Bahce, M.A. van der Drift, M.G. Looijen-Salamon, J. Gosney, P.E. Postmu Source Type: research