ALK Protein Expression And The Correlation Between ALK Fusion Gene And ALK Fusion Protein In Lung Adenocarcinoma

Objectives. To verify that D5F3antibody is sensitive and specific for the screening of ALK rearrangement in non-small cell lung cancer and that when combined with Roche’s VENTANA automated immnuohistochmeistry staining system (VENTANA IHC), D5F3out performs ordinary manual staining. To explore human fusion gene and fusion protein expression in adenocarcinoma of the lung after ALK rearrangement and preliminarily explore the association between the two. To explore ALK rearranged fusion gene and fusion protein expressed in bronchoscopic specimens of lung adenocarcinoma and the clinical pathological associations. Preliminarily explore the concordance of fluorescent in-situ hybridization (FISH) and immnohistochemistry (IHC) when applied on bronchoscopic biopsy specimens.Method. H2228(ALK-positive) and CALU-3(ALK-negative) cell strains were examined by FISH and IHC respectively.20ALK positive cases retrieved from the archives of Peking Union Medical College Hospital were analyzed by VENTANA IHC.##lung adenocarcinoma specimens were made into tissue chips and underwent FISH and IHC assay. Bronchoscopic biopsy specimens from65advanced staged disseminated lung adenocarcinoma retrieved from the tissue bank of the pathology department of PUMCH were analyzed using FISH and IHC.Results. FISH and IHC results were partially inconsistent in surgically resected specimens. In biopsy specimens, FISH and IHC yielded7.69%positivity, which is similar with the result reported before. No association was found between ALK protein expression and gene fusion, patients’ gender, age, history of smoking, pathological classification, differentiation and lymph node metastasis.Conclusion. VENTANA ICH and D5F3antibody is recommended for the screening of ALK fusion protein in non small cell lung cancer. Further study is needed for the association between ALK fusion gene and fusion protein. Biopsy specimens is a feasible source for the screening of ALK fusion gene and fusion protein.