Introduction: Half of inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors (IMTs) regardless of anatomic location harbor anaplastic lymphoma kinase gene (ALK) rearrangements and overexpress anaplastic lymphoma kinase protein. The wide application of next-generation sequencing and the clinical benefit to tyrosine kinase inhibitors have opened new opportunities for investigation of ALK-negative IMTs. Conclusions: By using a battery of complementary molecular techniques, we have shown that all the thoracic IMTs harbored a tyrosine kinase abnormality, with 30% involving a kinase gene other than ALK, including ROS1, NTRK3, and RET gene fusions. We have also described for the first time ALKATI-induced ALK oncogenic activation in IMTs. READ ARTICLE
Journal of Thoracic Oncology DOI:10.1016/j.jtho.2018.12.003
Authors: Jason C. Chang, Lei Zhang, Alexander E. Drilon, Ping Chi, Rita Alaggio, Laetitia Borsu, Ryma Benayed, William D. Travis, Marc Ladanyi, Cristina R. Antonescu