The Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase (ALK) is a receptor tyrosine kinase first identified as the product of a gene rearrangement in Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma. ALK has subsequently been found to be rearranged, mutated, or amplified in a further series of tumours including neuroblastoma, and Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. There is strong preclinical evidence that ALK is a driving force for oncogenesi...

The management of anaplastic lymphoma kinase rearranged (ALK+) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) exemplifies the potential of a precision medicine approach to cancer care. The ALK inhibitor crizotinib has led to improved outcomes in the first- and second-line setting; however, toxicities, intracranial activity, and acquired resistance necessitated the advent of later generation ALK inhibitors....

The ALK gene encodes a transmembrane tyrosine kinase receptor. ALK is physiologically expressed in the nervous system during embryogenesis, but its expression decreases postnatally. ALK first emerged in the field of oncology in 1994 when it was identified to fuse to NPM1 in anaplastic large-cell lymphoma. Since then, ALK has been associated with other types of cancers, including non-small-cell ...

Cytogenetic investigations in two cases of anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) showed novel variants of the classical (2;5)(p23;q35) translocation, namely a t(1;2)(q21;p23) and a t(2;3)(p23;q21). The tumor cells in both cases gave positive immunohistochemical labeling for ALK protein (with both monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies), demonstrating that these translocations induce aberrant expr...

Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) is a tyrosine kinase receptor which has been implicated in numerous solid and hematologic cancers. ALK mutations are reported in about 5-7% of neuroblastoma cases but the ALK-positive percentage increases significantly in the relapsed patient population. Crizotinib, the first clinically approved ALK inhibitor for the treatment of ALK-positive lung cancer has had...

Rearrangement of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene is the best predictor of response to crizotinib, an ALK tyrosine kinase inhibitor. However, the prevalence of the ALK fusion is low, so accurate patient identification is crucial for successful treatment using ALK inhibitors. Furthermore, most patients with lung cancer present with advanced-stage disease at the time of diagnosis, so it is i...

The anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) is chromosomally rearranged in a subset of certain cancers, including 2% to 7% of non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) and ∼70% of anaplastic large cell lymphomas (ALCL). The ALK kinase inhibitors crizotinib and ceritinib are approved for relapsed ALK(+) NSCLC, but acquired resistance to these drugs limits median progression-free survival on average to ∼10 mo...

primary breast lymphoma represents less than 1% of all primary breast malignancies and most primary breast lymphomas are of b-cell origin. the association of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (alk) negative anaplastic large cell lymphoma (alcl), a very rare form of primary breast lymphoma, with silicone-filled breast implants has been suggested and several case reports supported this proposal, especia...

Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) is a receptor tyrosine kinase protein implicated in a variety of tumors, both solid and hematological. Few years ago crizotinib, an inhibitor of the receptor tyrosine kinases c-Met and ALK, demonstrated its activity in ALK positive non-small-cell lung cancer and other tumors with excellent toxicity profile. Subsequently several ALK inhibitors have been developed...

Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene rearrangements have been identified in lung cancer at 3-7% frequency, thus representing an important subset of genetic lesions that drive oncogenesis in this disease. Despite the availability of multiple FDA-approved small molecule inhibitors targeting ALK fusion proteins, drug resistance to ALK kinase inhibitors is a common problem in clinic. Thus, there i...