Performance of a RT-PCR Assay in Comparison to FISH and Immunohistochemistry for the Detection of ALK in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Patients with lung cancers harboring an activating anaplastic lymphoma kinase () rearrangement respond favorably to ALK inhibitor therapy. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) are validated and widely used screening tests for rearrangements but both methods have limitations. The ALK RGQ RT-PCR Kit (RT-PCR) is a single tube quantitative real-time PCR assay for high throughput and automated interpretation of expression.

Comparison of triple-negative breast cancer molecular subtyping using RNA from matched fresh-frozen versus formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue.

Background: Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a heterogeneous disease that lacks unifying molecular alterations that can guide therapy decisions. We previously identified distinct molecular subtypes of TNBC (TNBCtype) using gene expression data generated on a microarray platform using frozen tumor specimens. Tumors and cell lines representing the identified subtypes have distinct enrichment in biologically relevant transcripts with differing sensitivity to standard chemotherapies and targeted agents.

Generation of an algorithm based on minimal gene sets to clinically subtype triple negative breast cancer patients.

Background: Recently, a gene expression algorithm, TNBCtype, was developed that can divide triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) into molecularly-defined subtypes. The algorithm has potential to provide predictive value for TNBC subtype-specific response to various treatments. TNBCtype used in a retrospective analysis of neoadjuvant clinical trial data of TNBC patients demonstrated that TNBC subtype and pathological complete response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy were significantly associated.

Detection of a TRAF1-ALK fusion in an anaplastic large cell lymphoma patient with chemotherapy and ALK inhibitor-resistant disease.

Background: The anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene encodes a receptor tyrosine kinase, which was first identified as the fusion partner of the nucleophosmin (NPM1) gene in the recurrent t(2;5)(p23;q35) found in a subset of anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL). Several distinct, non-NPM1, ALK fusions have subsequently been described in lymphomas and other tumor types. All of these fusions result in the constitutive expression and activation of ALK and ALK signaling pathways, ultimately leading to the malignant phenotype.