Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 20, 2026
Oncogenic Gene Fusion Detection Using Anchored Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction Followed by Next Generation Sequencing
Published on: July 5, 2019
Anaplastic lymphoma kinase gene analysis as a useful tool for identifying primary unknown metastatic lung
Naoki Watanabe1, Tomoya Ishii, Takayuki Takahama
1Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Hematology, Rheumatology and Respiratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Kagawa University, Japan.
Abstract:
A 55-year-old woman was admitted for an evaluation of a mediastinal mass, bilateral cervical lymphadenopathy and a left breast tumor. Although pathology revealed a diagnosis of breast cancer, the cervical lymph nodes differed from the breast lesion. An anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene analysis revealed ALK rearrangement in the cervical lymph nodes only, which were therefore diagnosed as reflective of metastasis of lung adenocarcinoma. The mediastinal tumor was also diagnosed as an ALK-positive lung adenocarcinoma based on its therapeutic response. ALK gene analyses can be used to identify primary lesions in patients with cancers of unknown primary sites.
