title: Anaplastic lymphoma kinase: Role in cancer and therapy perspective.
abstract: Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) is correlated with oncogenesis in different types of cancers, such as anaplastic large cell lymphoma, lung cancer, neuroblastoma, and even breast cancer, by abnormal fusion of ALK or non-fusion ALK activation. ALK is a receptor tyrosine kinase, with a single transmembrane domain, that plays an important role in development. Upon ligand binding to the extracellular domain, the receptor undergoes dimerization and subsequent autophosphorylation of the intracellular kinase domain. In recent years, ALK inhibitors have been developed for cancer treatment. These inhibitors target ALK activity and show effectiveness in ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer. However, acquired treatment resistance makes the future of this therapy unclear; new strategies are underway to overcome the limitations of current ALK inhibitors.
authors.affiliation: a Munroe-Meyer Institute; University of Nebraska Medical Center ; Omaha , NE , USA.
authors.forename: Zhihong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: b Department of Radiation Oncology ; University of Nebraska Medical Center ; Omaha , NE , USA.
authors.forename: Vivek
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Verma
authors.affiliation: b Department of Radiation Oncology ; University of Nebraska Medical Center ; Omaha , NE , USA.
authors.forename: Mutian
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000077548:Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase; D000818:Animals; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy; D009154:Mutation; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D015514:Oncogene Proteins, Fusion / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D015514:Oncogene Proteins, Fusion; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors; C000626173:ALK protein, human; D000077548:Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases
keywords: anaplastic lymphoma kinase; cancer; inhibitor; resistance; therapy; tyrosine kinase