Responses to crizotinib in a patient with c-ros oncogene 1, receptor tyrosine kinase-positive advanced lung adenocarcinoma: A case report

Authors：Zhang Na; Yang Jin Ji; Zhang Xu Chao; Xie Zhi; Wang Bin Chao; Tu Hai Yan; Jiang Ben Yuan; Wu Yi Long^*

Source：Oncology Letters, 2014, 8(6): 2624-2626.

DOI：10.3892/ol.2014.2571

• non-small cell lung cancer
• gene rearrangements
• receptor tyrosine kinase 1
• immunohistochemistry
• crizotinib
• partial responses

Rearrangements to the c-ros oncogene 1, receptor tyrosine kinase (ROS1) gene are reported in 1-2% of lung adenocarcinomas. These rearrangements are associated with a response to the small-molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor crizotinib. ROSI rearrangements can be detected using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), which is considered the gold standard technique in detecting ROSI rearrangements, and determining whether a patient would respond well to crizotinib treatment. However, FISH is an expensive and time-consuming assay, requiring specialized microscopy equipment and some level of technical expertise. The present report describes the case of a patient with advanced lung adenocarcinoma, who was identified to be negative for ROS-1 rearrangements by FISH, but positive by immunohistochemistry (IHC). The health of the patient improved following treatment with crizotinib. These results indicate that IHC assay could be an alternative option for the detection of ROSI gene rearrangements.

• Institution
  南方医科大学; 广东省人民医院