Clinicopathological Features and Therapeutic Responses of Chinese Patients with Advanced Lung Adenocarcinoma Harboring an Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase Rearrangement.

BACKGROUND

Presence of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) rearrangement is an indication for crizotinib in the treatment of patients with advanced or metastatic lung adenocarcinoma. Here, we sought to elucidate the association between clinicopathological features and ALK rearrangement status in Chinese patients with advanced lung adenocarcinoma harboring an ALK rearrangement.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

ALK rearrangement status was determined using immunohistochemistry (IHC) in tumor tissues from 120 patients with advanced lung adenocarcinoma, and further assessed by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) assay. The associations between ALK rearrangement status and clinicopathological features were analyzed.

RESULTS

According to IHC testing, the ALK-positive rate among the advanced lung adenocarcinoma patients was 6.67% (8/120). FISH validation found 5 patients with ALK rearrangement among the 8 IHC-positive cases. No significant difference was observed regarding age, sex, or smoking status between FISH-positive and -negative patients (p > 0.05). None of the 5 FISH-positive patients benefited from first-line chemotherapy.

CONCLUSION

IHC can be used as a reliable method for ALK rearrangement screening in patients with lung adenocarcinoma, but further FISH validation is imperative. Presence of ALK rearrangement predicts a more aggressive biological behavior of the tumor and might be indicative of poor response to chemotherapy.