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ALK-Mutated Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer: A New Strategy for Cancer Treatment

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Abstract

The anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) tyrosine kinase (TK) receptor has emerged recently as a potentially relevant biomarker and therapeutic target in solid and hematologic tumors. A variety of alterations in the ALK gene, such as mutations, overexpression, amplification, translocations, or other structural rearrangements, have been implicated in human cancer tumorigenesis. In this article we review the potential role that ALK may have in lung tumor origin, the methodology to detect the different molecular alterations, and the most important clinical aspects of ALK alterations in NSCLC patients.

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Conflict of interest

Luis Cabezón-Gutiérrez, Parham Khosravi-Shahi, Victor Manuel Diaz-Muñoz-de-la-Espada, Jose Rafael Carrión-Galindo, Itziar Eraña-Tomás, and María Castro-Otero have no conflicts of interest or financial ties to disclose.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Oncology, Hospital de Torrejón, Calle Mateo Inurria, s/n, 28850, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    Luis Cabezón-Gutiérrez & Parham Khosravi-Shahi

  2. Department of Medical Oncology, Hospital del Sureste, Madrid, Spain

    Victor Manuel Diaz-Muñoz-de-la-Espada & Jose Rafael Carrión-Galindo

  3. Department of Pathology, Hospital de Torrejón, Calle Mateo Inurria, s/n, 28850, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    Itziar Eraña-Tomás

  4. Department of Neumology, Hospital de Torrejón, Calle Mateo Inurria, s/n, 28850, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    María Castro-Otero

  5. Calle Mendez Álvaro Nº 34 portal A piso 3ºB, 28045, Madrid, Spain

    Luis Cabezón-Gutiérrez

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  1. Luis Cabezón-Gutiérrez
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  2. Parham Khosravi-Shahi
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  6. María Castro-Otero
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Correspondence to Luis Cabezón-Gutiérrez.

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Cabezón-Gutiérrez, L., Khosravi-Shahi, P., Diaz-Muñoz-de-la-Espada, V.M. et al. ALK-Mutated Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer: A New Strategy for Cancer Treatment. Lung 190, 381–388 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00408-012-9391-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00408-012-9391-y

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