Cao Severine, Nambudiri Vinod E
Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Department of Dermatology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Cancers (Basel). 2017 Sep 12;9(9):123. doi: 10.3390/cancers9090123.
Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) is a receptor tyrosine kinase that has been implicated in the pathogenesis of a variety of neoplasms. As suggested by its name, ALK was first described as part of a translocation product in cases of anaplastic large-cell lymphoma, with other genetic and cytogenetic ALK mutations subsequently coming to attention in the development of many other hematologic and solid organ malignancies. ALK has now been shown to play a role in the pathogenesis of several cutaneous malignancies, including secondary cutaneous systemic anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (ALCL) and primary cutaneous ALCL, melanoma, spitzoid tumors, epithelioid fibrous histiocytoma, Merkel cell carcinoma, and basal cell carcinoma. The characterization of ALK-positivity in these cutaneous malignancies presents exciting opportunities for utilizing ALK-targeted inhibitors in the treatment of these diseases.
间变性淋巴瘤激酶（ALK）是一种受体酪氨酸激酶，与多种肿瘤的发病机制有关。顾名思义，ALK最初被描述为间变性大细胞淋巴瘤病例中易位产物的一部分，随后在许多其他血液系统和实体器官恶性肿瘤的发展过程中，其他基因和细胞遗传学ALK突变也受到关注。现已证明，ALK在几种皮肤恶性肿瘤的发病机制中起作用，包括继发性皮肤系统性间变性大细胞淋巴瘤（ALCL）和原发性皮肤ALCL、黑色素瘤、Spitz样肿瘤、上皮样纤维组织细胞瘤、默克尔细胞癌和基底细胞癌。这些皮肤恶性肿瘤中ALK阳性的特征为利用ALK靶向抑制剂治疗这些疾病提供了令人兴奋的机会。
