A study of ALK-positive pulmonary squamous-cell carcinoma: From diagnostic methodologies to clinical efficacy

Background: High concordance has been observed between Ventana D5F3 ALK immunohistochemistry (IHC) and fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH) in lung adenocarcinoma (LADC). However, whether a similar conclusion can be applied to lung squamous-cell carcinoma (LSCC) has remained unclear. We therefore evaluated the ALK (anaplastic lymphoma kinase) status and the therapeutic effect of an ALK tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) in IHC- or FISH-positive LSCC. Conclusions: The positive concordance rate of ALK IHC and FISH in LSCC is far less than that reported for LADC. Therefore, ALK IHC detection in LSCC cannot be used as a diagnostic method for ALK rearrangement. READ ARTICLE

Lung Cancer
DOI:10.1016/j.lungcan.2019.02.015

Authors: Haiyue Wang, Leina Sun,Yaxiong Sang, Xin Yang, Guangming Tian, Ziping Wang, Jian Fang, Wei Sun, Lixin Zhou, Ling Jia, Ming-Sound Tsao, Huaiyin Shi, Dongmei Lin

Real-World OutcomesKirk SmithFebruary 18, 2019Lung squamous-cell carcinoma, ALK gene rearrangement, Ventana D5F3 ALK immunohistochemistry (China)

Case report of unusual ALK gene rearrangement and review of 354 cases of ALK rearrangement study of lung non-small cell carcinoma

Background: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in Australia, accounting for 18.7% in 2017; and an estimated incidence of 43 cases per 100,000 persons in 2013, making it the 5th most common cancer. Many genetic abnormalities are essential in driving tumorigenesis. Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene rearrangement is responsible for 3–7% of all non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC); which are responsive to tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Therefore, detection of such genetic abnormalities has become mainstay practice in the diagnostic workup for lung cancers. READ ARTICLE

Pathology DOI:10.1016/j.pathol.2018.09.044

Authors: M. Huang, A. Chou, D. Riley, Y. Kim, R. Lukeis, M. Qiu

Case StudyKirk SmithFebruary 1, 2019ALK gene rearrangement, lung non-small cell carcinoma