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EML4-ALK Variants: Biological and Molecular Properties, and the Implications for Patients

Since the discovery of the fusion between EML4 (echinoderm microtubule associated protein-like 4) and ALK (anaplastic lymphoma kinase), EML4-ALK, in lung adenocarcinomas in 2007, and the subsequent identification of at least 15 different variants in lung cancers, there has been a revolution in molec...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Sabir, Sarah R., Yeoh, Sharon, Jackson, George, Bayliss, Richard
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2017
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5615333/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28872581
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cancers9090118
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author Sabir, Sarah R.
Yeoh, Sharon
Jackson, George
Bayliss, Richard
author_facet Sabir, Sarah R.
Yeoh, Sharon
Jackson, George
Bayliss, Richard
author_sort Sabir, Sarah R.
collection PubMed
description Since the discovery of the fusion between EML4 (echinoderm microtubule associated protein-like 4) and ALK (anaplastic lymphoma kinase), EML4-ALK, in lung adenocarcinomas in 2007, and the subsequent identification of at least 15 different variants in lung cancers, there has been a revolution in molecular-targeted therapy that has transformed the outlook for these patients. Our recent focus has been on understanding how and why the expression of particular variants can affect biological and molecular properties of cancer cells, as well as identifying the key signalling pathways triggered, as a result. In the clinical setting, this understanding led to the discovery that the type of variant influences the response of patients to ALK therapy. Here, we discuss what we know so far about the EML4-ALK variants in molecular signalling pathways and what questions remain to be answered. In the longer term, this analysis may uncover ways to specifically treat patients for a better outcome.
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spelling pubmed-56153332017-09-28 EML4-ALK Variants: Biological and Molecular Properties, and the Implications for Patients Sabir, Sarah R. Yeoh, Sharon Jackson, George Bayliss, Richard Cancers (Basel) Review Since the discovery of the fusion between EML4 (echinoderm microtubule associated protein-like 4) and ALK (anaplastic lymphoma kinase), EML4-ALK, in lung adenocarcinomas in 2007, and the subsequent identification of at least 15 different variants in lung cancers, there has been a revolution in molecular-targeted therapy that has transformed the outlook for these patients. Our recent focus has been on understanding how and why the expression of particular variants can affect biological and molecular properties of cancer cells, as well as identifying the key signalling pathways triggered, as a result. In the clinical setting, this understanding led to the discovery that the type of variant influences the response of patients to ALK therapy. Here, we discuss what we know so far about the EML4-ALK variants in molecular signalling pathways and what questions remain to be answered. In the longer term, this analysis may uncover ways to specifically treat patients for a better outcome. MDPI 2017-09-05 /pmc/articles/PMC5615333/ /pubmed/28872581 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cancers9090118 Text en © 2017 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Review
Sabir, Sarah R.
Yeoh, Sharon
Jackson, George
Bayliss, Richard
EML4-ALK Variants: Biological and Molecular Properties, and the Implications for Patients
title EML4-ALK Variants: Biological and Molecular Properties, and the Implications for Patients
title_full EML4-ALK Variants: Biological and Molecular Properties, and the Implications for Patients
title_fullStr EML4-ALK Variants: Biological and Molecular Properties, and the Implications for Patients
title_full_unstemmed EML4-ALK Variants: Biological and Molecular Properties, and the Implications for Patients
title_short EML4-ALK Variants: Biological and Molecular Properties, and the Implications for Patients
title_sort eml4-alk variants: biological and molecular properties, and the implications for patients
topic Review
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5615333/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28872581
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cancers9090118
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