Lung Cancer

It is estimated that lung cancer will account for approximately 13% of all new cancer cases in the U.S. in 2016. Lung cancer is associated with a very poor prognosis and is the leading cause of cancer deaths among men and women. Approximately 85% of lung cancers are classified as Non Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCL)1.

 

FISH Assays:

ALK-BA: The EML4-ALK fusion is observed in 3-5% of NSCL cases. Crizotinib and Ceritinib have been approved by the FDA for the treatment of ALK positive NSCL.2

ROS-BA: ROS1 rearrangements occur in approximately 1% of patients with NSCLC. Clinical trials for the treatment of NSCL with Crizotinib are being conducted.3,4

MET (7q31): MET gene amplification is observed in many cancers and is the most common MET genetic alteration. This leads to high MET protein expression and activation, and is associated with poor prognosis in NSCLC, colorectal, breast, gastric, and other cancers. MET amplification is a predictor of several anti-cancer treatments.5,6

MYC (8q24): Research has shown that MYC as frequently amplified in early-stage NSCLC and is a strong predictor of poor survival.7

TERC (3q26): Research has shown that increased genomic copy number of TERC has strong association with squamous histology but does not have prognostic impact.8

P16 (9p21): FISH studies have identified that P16 is deleted at a high frequency in Lung Cancer patients.9

CCND1 (11q13): CCND1 amplifications and Cyclin D1 protein overexpression is common in NSCLC and is associated with a poor prognosis.10

Order FISH Probes

References

  1. National Cancer Institute, Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program, 2016.
  2. Duyster J, Bai RY, Morris SW. Translocations involving anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK). Oncogene. 2001 Sep 10;20(40):5623-37. Review. PubMed PMID: 11607814.
  3. Davies KD, Doebele RC. Molecular pathways: ROS1 fusion proteins in cancer. Clin Cancer Res. 2013 Aug 1;19(15):4040-5. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-12-2851. Epub 2013 May 29. Review. PubMed PMID: 23719267; PubMed Central PMCID:PMC3732549.
  4. Shaw AT, Solomon BJ. Crizotinib in ROS1-rearranged non-small-cell lung cancer. N Engl J Med. 2015 Feb 12;372(7):683-4. doi: 10.1056/NEJMc1415359. PubMed PMID: 25671264.
  5. Sierra JR, Tsao MS. c-MET as a potential therapeutic target and biomarker in cancer. Ther Adv Med Oncol. 2011 Nov;3(1 Suppl):S21-35. doi: 10.1177/1758834011422557. PubMed PMID: 22128285; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3225018.
  6. Gherardi E, Birchmeier W, Birchmeier C, Vande Woude G. Targeting MET in cancer: rationale and progress. Nat Rev Cancer. 2012 Jan 24;12(2):89-103. doi:10.1038/nrc3205. Review. Erratum in: Nat Rev Cancer. 2012 Sep;12(9):637. PubMed PMID: 22270953.
  7. Flacco A, Ludovini V, Bianconi F, Ragusa M, Bellezza G, Tofanetti FR, Pistola L, Siggillino A, Vannucci J, Cagini L, Sidoni A, Puma F, Varella-Garcia M, Crinò L. MYC and human telomerase gene (TERC) copy number gain in early-stage non-small cell lung cancer. Am J Clin Oncol. 2015 Apr;38(2):152-8. doi: 10.1097/COC.0000000000000012. PubMed PMID: 25806711; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4607281.
  8. Flacco A, Ludovini V, Bianconi F, Ragusa M, Bellezza G, Tofanetti FR, Pistola L, Siggillino A, Vannucci J, Cagini L, Sidoni A, Puma F, Varella-Garcia M, Crinò L. MYC and human telomerase gene (TERC) copy number gain in early-stage non-small cell lung cancer. Am J Clin Oncol. 2015 Apr;38(2):152-8. doi: 10.1097/COC.0000000000000012. PubMed PMID: 25806711; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4607281.
  9. Demirhan O, Taştemir D, Hastürk S, Kuleci S, Hanta I. Alterations in p16 and p53 genes and chromosomal findings in patients with lung cancer: fluorescence in situ hybridization and cytogenetic studies. Cancer Epidemiol. 2010 Aug;34(4):472-7. doi: 10.1016/j.canep.2010.03.018. Epub 2010 May 4. PubMed PMID: 20444664.
  10. Betticher DC, Heighway J, Hasleton PS, Altermatt HJ, Ryder WD, Cerny T, Thatcher N. Prognostic significance of CCND1 (cyclin D1) overexpression in primary resected non-small-cell lung cancer. Br J Cancer. 1996 Feb;73(3):294-300. PubMed PMID: 8562333; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2074441.