Clinicopathological and prognostic implications of ALK rearrangement in patients with completely surgically resected lung adenocarcinoma

BACKGROUND: The prognostic significance of ALK rearrangement is still contradictory. Here, we aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics and outcomes of lung adenocarcinoma patients with ALK rearrangement, and analyze whether these patients benefited from targeted therapy. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of 80 ALK‐rearranged lung adenocarcinoma patients who had undergone radical surgery and another 3031 ALK mutation‐negative patients were retrospectively reviewed for inclusion in this case‐controlled analyses. Overall survival (OS) was evaluated using the Kaplan‐–Meier method. Univariate analysis (UVA) and multivariate analysis (MVA) by the Cox proportional hazards regression identified risk factors that predicted OS. RESULTS: Compared to ALK‐negative patients, the ALK rearranged patients were younger, with more non‐smokers, more females, a larger primary tumor was demonstrated, and were a higher pathological stage. In particular, the risk of lymph node metastasis was higher. For patients with surgically‐resected tumors, the prognosis was better for ALK rearranged patients (HR = 0.503; 95% CI: 0.259–0.974, p = 0.041). In addition, for stage II–III patients, targeted therapy was an independent prognostic factor of better OS (HR = 0.159; 95% CI: 0.032–0.801, p = 0.026). CONCLUSIONS: ALK rearranged lung adenocarcinoma patients who have undergone radical surgery have distinct clinical features. Patients with ALK rearrangement may have a favorable prognosis, and stage II–III patients may benefit from targeted treatment.