Status of Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase (ALK) in malignant mesothelioma.

Background: Malignant mesothelioma (MM) is a particularly aggressive type of primary tumor, associated with exposure to asbestos, and characterized by high mortality. To date, there is no curative therapy for MM. The receptor anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) was found to be mutated in many cases of cancer and used as a target in biological therapies. We investigated whether this pharmacological treatment could also be applicable to MM.

Materials And Methods: The state of ALK was analyzed by immunohistochemistry and fluorescent in situ hybridization in 63 MM tissue specimens.

Results: None of the 63 MM samples showed overexpression or translocation of ALK.

Conclusion: Our preliminary data exclude the utility of analysis of the ALK gene in MM and suggest that ALK inhibitor therapy is not applicable to MM.