Frequency of ALK Rearrangements in Non Small-Cell Lung Cancer in Latin America: The Latin-American Consortium for the Investigation of Lung Cancer (CLICaP).

The precise frequency of ALK in Latin American population has not been determined. Studies isolated in some Latin American countries like Brazil report a frequency of 3.2%, Argentina of 4.2% and Mexico of 9.0% of ALK fusion in a small number with lung cancer. Reliable information about ALK frequencies and disparities among ethnic groups is critical. Our study pretends to know the frequency and clinical characteristics of ALK rearrangement of Latin American patients with NSCLC. Discusses the difficulty of having a single diagnostic test for this chromosome abnormality.

The development of efficient and reliable laboratory test is critical in the selection of patients likely to respond to these targeted agents. Currently, the current gold standard for testing for EML4-ALK translocation is fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) for selecting patients for ALK-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) therapy according to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). But, an important aspect is the amount of available tumor present in a determined sample, given the labor-intensive nature and cost of the test, there has been interest in validating other screening and diagnostic tools. Recent evidence suggests that ALK Immunohistochemistry (IHC) instruments globally protocols, can be very effective in the detection of ALK rearrangement in NSCLC (ALK+) tumors expressing the fusion ALK protein.