Manabu Soda

TL;DR: It is shown that a small inversion within chromosome 2p results in the formation of a fusion gene comprising portions of the echinoderm microtubule-associated protein-like 4 (EML4) gene and the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells.

TL;DR: A multivariate analysis of 1,116 adenocarcinomas containing 71 kinase-fusion–positive adenokcinomas identified four independent factors that are indicators of poor prognosis: age ≥50 years, male sex, high pathological stage and negative kinase -fusion status.

TL;DR: It is demonstrated that downregulation of ALK through RNA interference suppresses proliferation of neuroblastoma cells harbouring mutated ALK, and that ALK-specific kinase inhibitors might improve its clinical outcome.

TL;DR: The results offer an explanation for the heterogeneity of TKI responses across individuals and suggest the possibility of personalizing therapy with BH3 mimetics to overcome BIM-polymorphism–associated TKI resistance.

TL;DR: The established transgenic mouse lines that express EML4-ALK specifically in lung alveolar epithelial cells reinforce the pivotal role of EML 4-ALK in the pathogenesis of NSCLC in humans and provide experimental support for the treatment of this intractable cancer with ALK inhibitors.