Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase (ALK) Fusion Test Cost & Procedure

What is under examination?

The gene for the anaplastic lymphoma receptor tyrosine kinase is referred to as ALK. This analysis discovers certain ALK gene rearrangements in cancerous cells and tissue. These alterations boost the likelihood that a patient with non-small cell lung cancer may profit from targeted medication treatment.

Anaplastic lymphoma kinase is a protein that is stimulated by the ALK gene. It is a partner of the receptor tyrosine kinases protein family, which regulates cell proliferation.

Why Get Tested?

to direct non-small cell lung cancer treatment, to identify an ALK gene rearrangement in tumor samples.

When Should I Get Tested?

When you hold non-small cell lung cancer and your physician is thinking about utilizing an ALK kinase inhibitor like crizotinib as an aspect of your therapeutic administration strategy

What does it do?

Adenocarcinoma non-small cell lung cancer patients are evaluated for their likelihood of responding to crizotinib or other ALK kinase inhibitor medication therapies using ALK mutation analysis. By this test, ALK gene rearrangements in tumor tissue are found.

Typically, the test is requested concurrently with or as a follow-up to EGFR and ROS1. Further testing is typically not required if the non-small cell lung cancer contains an EGFR mutation because the patient is expected to react to tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy, which is an anti-EGFR medication therapy.

Testing approaches include:

The gold standard for assessing ALK fusions at the moment is fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH), a technique that examines the genetic level for the presence of gene rearrangements.

IHC (immunohistochemistry) – this technique, can be used instead of FISH to detect the changed ALK protein.

The fusion partner gene can have some clinical significance and can be found using the next-generation sequencing (NGS) technique, which finds ALK fusions.

ALK fusions that are already known to exist can be found using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), but new fusions cannot be found.

Sample Necessary?

A biopsy process is used to get a tumor tissue sample, and occasionally, tissue is also taken during surgery. Usually, a pathologist examines the tumor tissue before testing.

Need to study for the test?

Typically, little planning is necessary.

What does the test's outcome indicate?

An ALK kinase inhibitor medication therapy, such as crizotinib, may be beneficial if the cancer tissue has a certain ALK gene rearrangement mutation or changed ALK protein.

ALK kinase inhibitor medication therapy is unlikely to be beneficial for a patient whose tumor does not have an ALK gene rearrangement.