ALK Expression Is a Novel Marker for the WNT-activated Type of Pediatric Medulloblastoma and an Indicator of Good Prognosis for Patients.
ALK gene rearrangements were identified in a variety of cancers, including neuroblastoma, where the presence of ALK expression is associated with adverse prognosis. ALK mutations have recently been found in the pediatric brain tumor medulloblastoma, and microarray data indicate that ALK is highly expressed in a subset of these tumors. Therefore, we investigated whether ALK expression correlates with transcriptional profiles and clinical features of medulloblastoma. Tumors from 116 medulloblastoma patients were studied at diagnosis for the detection of ALK expression at the RNA level by an application of NanoString technology and at the protein level by immunohistochemistry using antibody ALK clone D5F3. The results indicate that ALK expression, at both the RNA and the protein levels, is strongly associated with the WNT-activated type of tumors and therefore may serve as a useful marker for the detection of this type of medulloblastoma. Importantly, ALK protein expression alone is also an indicator of good prognosis for medulloblastoma patients.
*Department of Pathology §Clinic of Oncology, The Children's Memorial Health Institute †Department of Experimental and Clinical Pathology, Mossakowski Medical Research Centre Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw ‡Clinical Research Centre ∥Department of Endocrinology, Diabetology and Internal Medicine, Medical University of Białystok, Białystok, Poland.
Maria
M
Łastowska
Joanna
J
Trubicka
Magdalena
M
Niemira
Magdalena
M
Paczkowska-Abdulsalam
Agnieszka
A
Karkucińska-Więckowska
Magdalena
M
Kaleta
Monika
M
Drogosiewicz
Magdalena
M
Tarasińska
Marta
M
Perek-Polnik
Adam
A
Krętowski
Bożenna
B
Dembowska-Bagińska
Wiesława
W
Grajkowska
Maciej
M
Pronicki
Ewa
E
Matyja
D000293:Adolescent; D000077548:Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000235:genetics*; D002528:Cerebellar Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000401:mortality; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008527:Medulloblastoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000401:mortality; D011379:Prognosis; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000235:genetics*
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C000626173:ALK protein, human; D000077548:Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases