Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase (ALK) Overexpression in Lung Cancer Biopsies - An 18 month study in north western Romania

Abstract

Lung cancer is the first cause of death worldwide of oncological patients. Most of them are non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and many of them are characterized by different molecular markers that allow the development of personalized treatments. Epithelial growth factor receptor (EGFR) and anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) are the most frequently tested genes in lung adenocarcinoma and other lung carcinomas with glandular component. The aim of our study is to evaluate the distribution of ALK gene mutation in lung cancer patient from North West part of Romania. We analysed a number of 289 lung biopsies along 18 months. The samples have been incubated with monoclonal ALK antibodies (clone D5F3), according to the manufacturer�s instruction. The interpretation guide provided by manufacturer was used to distinguish the positives vs negative cases. In our study from a total number of 289 lung biopsies, 196 cases were carcinomas. 57.65 % from the total number of lung cancers were adenocarcinomas. A total number of 79 cases have been analysed for ALK gene supra expression. 5.08 % of adenocarcinomas were positive for ALK, but the mean age for this population is higher comparing with the data from other studies.