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Assessment of ALK gene fusions in lung cancer using the differential expression and exon integrity methods
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Assessment of ALK gene fusions in lung cancer using the differential expression and exon integrity methods

Qing Huang, Qiuhua Deng, Lei Jiang, Rong Fang, Yinghua Qiu, Ping Wang, Jeff X. Zhou and Haihong Yang
Oncology letters, v 11(3), pp 1651-1656
01 Mar 2016
PMID: 26998057
url
https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2016.4157View
Published, Version of Record (VoR) Open

Abstract

Life Sciences & Biomedicine Oncology Science & Technology
Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene fusion is a driving mutation underlying the development of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Accurate detection of ALK fusion is critical for the use of ALK inhibitors in the treatment of NSCLC. Commonly utilized methods for ALK detection include fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and immunohistochemistry (IHC). However, these methods are time-consuming and costly. In the present study, a method for assessing ALK gene fusion based on the differential expression levels of the ALK kinase and non-kinase domains was developed and evaluated, with the aim of providing a convenient and reliable method for the detection of ALK fusion. In addition, another method was established to determine the integrity of exons 19-20 and 20-21 of ALK, two genomic loci that are typically broken in ALK fusions. These novel methods were applied to detect ALK fusion in 100 NSCLC patients, and were compared with IHC and FISH methods. The novel methods developed in the present study successfully detected ALK fusions in 10 samples. The concordances between the novel methods and IHC and FISH were 100%. Furthermore, the differential expression method was able to detect ALK fusions in cell-free urine samples, which was advantageous over FISH and IHC. The novel methods developed in the present study are cost-effective and easy to perform, and may provide simple and convenient techniques for the clinical assessment of ALK fusions, facilitating the use of targeted therapy for NSCLC.

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Oncology
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