title: Presence of anaplastic lymphoma kinase translocation in sarcomatoid carcinoma of head and neck and treatment effect of crizotinib: A case series.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Sarcomatoid carcinoma of the upper aerodigestive tract, a variant of squamous cell carcinoma, is a rare biphasic tumor consisting of epithelial and mesenchymal components.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We report a case of 34-year-old woman with a relapsed refractory sarcomatoid carcinoma in the maxillary sinus. Because anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) translocation is common in sarcoma, ALK fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was performed and the result was positive. After crizotinib was administered, clinical improvement and stable disease lasted for 4 months. To identify the incidence of ALK rearrangement in this disease entity, ALK FISH was performed on tumor samples of 10 patients. Among them, 2 patients were positive.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report demonstrating the clinical benefit of crizotinib in sarcomatoid carcinoma of the head and neck with ALK translocation. Our results suggest that the ALK FISH test may be suitable and encouraged for patients with sarcomatoid carcinoma of the head and neck.
authors.affiliation: Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Sung Min
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Moon Jin
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Hyun Ae
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Jong-Mu
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Yoon-La
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Young-Hyeh
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Ko
authors.forename: Keunchil
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Chung-Hwan
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Baek
authors.forename: Young-Ik
authors.initials: YI
authors.lastname: Son
authors.forename: Myung-Ju
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Ahn
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000077548:Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D000077547:Crizotinib; D018450:Disease Progression; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D011720:Pyrazoles / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011725:Pyridines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000235:genetics*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012509:Sarcoma / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D014178:Translocation, Genetic; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D011720:Pyrazoles; D011725:Pyridines; D000077547:Crizotinib; C000626173:ALK protein, human; D000077548:Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases
keywords: anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH); crizotinib; head and neck cancer; sarcomatoid carcinoma