ALK FISH for non-small cell lung cancer

In non-small cell lung cancer, approximately 5-7% of cases have translocations involving the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene and the human echinoderm microtubule-associated protein-like 4 (EML4) gene. Although standard tyrosine kinase inhibitors, such as those that target EGFR, inhibit ALK poorly, novel tyrosine kinase inibitors have recently been developed that demonstrate dramatic clinical activity towards EML4-ALK positive lung cancers. PhenoPath Laboratories now offers an ALK FISH assay that has been validated to detect EML4-ALK translocations in lung cancer and this assay will aid in determining patient eligibility for this novel class of ALK-specific tyrosine kinase inhibitors.

References:

1. Soda et al., Nature 448:561-566, 2007
2. Martelli et al., Am J Pathol 174: 661-670, 2009

If you or your clinicians have any questions regarding PhenoPath Laboratories' ALK FISH test, contact us at 206-374-9000, or by email at lab@phenopath.com.