Journal of Cytology & Histology

O’Toole SA

Publications

• Review Article
  Detecting ALK Gene Rearrangements in Lung Cancer Cytology Specimens
  Author(s): Cooper WA and O’Toole SACooper WA and O’Toole SA
  
  Molecular testing for EGFR mutations and ALK gene rearrangements has become a routine part of lung cancer pathological diagnosis, and is critical to determine the most effective therapies for patients with this poor prognosis cancer. ALK gene rearrangements are seen particularly in adenocarcinoma of the lung and are associated with an excellent response rate to targeted inhibition with crizotinib in clinical trials for many patients whose tumours harbour this change. ALK gene rearrangement is generally observed at low incidence posing challenges for routine detection. Since a high proportion of lung cancers are inoperable at presentation, cytology plays a central role in diagnosis and provision of material for ALK testing. The advantages offered by cytology specimens for ALK and other molecular testing are becoming increasingly recognised - cytology specimens tend to have a lower prop.. Read More»
  DOI: 10.4172/2157-7099.1000216

  Abstract PDF