Immunohistochemistry effectively detects ALK rearrangement

Could be reliable and cost-effective diagnostic approach in lung cancer

2013-06-26

(Press-News.org) DENVER – ALK rearrangement has been demonstrated to be a potent oncogenic driver and a promising therapeutic target in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). It defines a distinct molecular subset of NSCLC, in particular adenocarcinoma that can benefit by the treatment of ALK-inhibitors. Development of robust and reliable laboratory tests for predictive biomarkers is essential to select appropriate patients for targeted therapy. Researchers from the Chinese University of Hong King evaluated the practical usefulness of immunohistochemistry to detect ALK expression as a reliable detection method of ALK rearrangement in lung adenocarcinoma. A study published in the July issue of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology (JTO), concludes that immunohistochemistry can effectively detect ALK rearrangement in lung cancer. In fact, it might provide a reliable and cost-effective diagnostic approach in routine pathologic laboratories for the identification of suitable candidates for ALK-targeted therapy. Researchers tested 373 lung adenocarcinomas for ALK rearrangement by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and fluorescent in situ hybridization, known as FISH. They conclude that, "IHC would be served as an effective and rapid detection method in routine pathologic laboratories for the identification of suitable candidates for ALK-targeted therapy." IHC is a less complex and less costly technology than FISH. In addition, their research demonstrated that some ALK IHC positive but FISH-negative lung cancers did harbor the translocation events as confirmed by RT-PCR. Thus, this subgroup of patients should also benefit from ALK inhibitory therapy. Further clinical trials are required to address the predictive value of ALK IHC in these patients. ### The lead author is IASLC member Ka-Fai To, who is also on the IASLC Pathology Committee. Co-authors include IASLC members Dr. Linda Leung and Dr. Tony Mok.

About the IASLC: The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) is the only global organization dedicated to the study of lung cancer. Founded in 1974, the association's membership includes more than 3,500 lung cancer specialists in 80 countries. To learn more about IASLC please visit http://www.iaslc.org.

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Continued research needed on treatment for women with lung cancer who are never smokers

2013-06-26

DENVER – The incidence of lung cancer in women affects an estimated 516,000 women worldwide, of which 100,000 are in the United States and 70,000 in Europe. Until now, lung cancers occurring in women have been treated similarly to lung cancers in men. However, numerous studies have highlighted different characteristics of lung cancer in women. Researchers at the University of Toulouse III in France aim to compare clinical, pathological and biological characteristics of lung cancer in cohorts of women smokers and women never-smokers. They looked at a total of 140 women, ...

PET-CT improves care of limited-stage small-cell lung cancer patients

2013-06-26

DENVER – Each year, 13 percent of all newly diagnosed lung cancer patients are diagnosed with small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). Approximately 39 percent of patients with SCLC are diagnosed with limited-stage disease, meaning the cancer is only present in one lung, but may have spread to lymph nodes or tissue between the lungs. These patients are often treated with chemotherapy and definitive radiation therapy. Staging information is essential because of the high propensity for metastatic disease in SCLC, and the identification of metastases can spare patients from the toxicity ...

Study details cancer-promoting mechanisms of overlooked components in secondhand smoke

2013-06-26

Tobacco smoke, diesel exhaust and oil combustion carry polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons – PAHs that are known to cause cancer. But of these PAHs, the obviously dangerous high-molecular-weight PAHs like benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) have received the vast majority of research attention. Their low-molecular-weight cousins have been largely overlooked, in part because studies have shown that these compounds alone aren't very successful at mutating genes in cancer-causing ways. A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published in the journal PLoS One explores two of these low-molecular-weight ...

Vietnam vets with PTSD more than twice as likely to have heart disease

2013-06-26

Male twin Vietnam veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were more than twice as likely as those without PTSD to develop heart disease during a 13-year period, according to a study supported by the National Institutes of Health. This is the first long-term study to measure the association between PTSD and heart disease using objective clinical diagnoses combined with cardiac imaging techniques. "This study provides further evidence that PTSD may affect physical health," said Gary H. Gibbons, M.D., director of the NIH's National Heart, Lung, and Blood ...

'Active surveillance' may miss aggressive prostate cancers in black men

2013-06-26

A Johns Hopkins study of more than 1,800 men ages 52 to 62 suggests that African-Americans diagnosed with very-low-risk prostate cancers are much more likely than white men to actually have aggressive disease that goes unrecognized with current diagnostic approaches. Although prior studies have found it safe to delay treatment and monitor some presumably slow-growing or low-risk prostate cancers, such "active surveillance" (AS) does not appear to be a good idea for black men, the study concludes. "This study offers the most conclusive evidence to date that broad application ...

Hiding in plain sight: New species of bird discovered in capital city

2013-06-26

A team of scientists with the Wildlife Conservation Society, BirdLife International, and other groups have discovered a new species of bird with distinct plumage and a loud call living not in some remote jungle, but in a capital city of 1.5 million people. Called the Cambodian tailorbird (Orthotomus chaktomuk), the previously undescribed species was found in Cambodia's urbanized capitol Phnom Penh and several other locations just outside of the city including a construction site. It is one of only two bird species found solely in Cambodia. The other, the Cambodian laughingthrush, ...

USC research IDs potential treatment for deadly, HIV-related blood cancer

2013-06-26

LOS ANGELES — Researchers at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center have discovered a promising new way to treat a rare and aggressive blood cancer most commonly found in people infected with HIV. The USC team shows that a class of drugs called BET bromodomain inhibitors effectively targets primary effusion lymphoma (PEL), a type of cancer for which those drugs were not expected to be effective. "It's a reversal of the paradigm," said Preet Chaudhary, MD, PhD, chief of the Nohl Division of Hematology and Blood Diseases at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and ...

Telecoupling pulls pieces of sustainability puzzle together

2013-06-26

Global sustainability is like a high-stakes jigsaw puzzle – and an international group of scientists have created a new framework to assemble the big picture without losing pieces. Scientists led by Jianguo "Jack" Liu, Michigan State University's Rachel Carson Chair in Sustainability, have built an integrated way to study a world that has become more connected – with faster and more socioeconomic and environmental interactions over distances. They say "telecoupling" describes how distance is shrinking and connections are strengthening between nature and humans. In Ecology ...

Human and canine lymphomas share molecular similarities, first large-scale comparison shows

2013-06-26

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Humans and their pet dogs are close, so close that they both develop a type of cancer called diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. In humans it's the most common lymphoma subtype while in dogs, it's one of the most common cancers in veterinary oncology. A team of scientists from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, North Carolina State University's College of Veterinary Medicine and Duke University have conducted one of the first studies to directly compare canine and human B-cell lymphoma by examining molecular similarities and differences ...

New research finds flu shot effective regardless of circulating flu strain

2013-06-26

New research out of St. Michael's Hospital has found that despite popular belief, the flu shot is effective in preventing the flu, even if the virus going around does not match the vaccine. "It's quite common for people to say they are not going to get the flu shot this year because they've heard it does not match the strain of flu going around," said Dr. Andrea Tricco, the lead author of the paper and a scientist at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael's Hospital. "However, we've found that individuals will be protected regardless of whether the flu strain ...

Wiley advances Knowitall Solutions with new trendfinder application for user-friendly chemometric analysis and additional enhancements to analytical workflows

Immunohistochemistry effectively detects ALK rearrangement

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: