A rare KIFB5-ALK fusion variant in lung adenocarcionoma

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) has revealed an increase in the number of ALK anaplastic lymphoma kinase gene fusion variants. Clinical outcomes for patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have improved sig­nificantly with the use of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), but treatment outcomes vary, even for the same fusion variants; depending on the breakpoint. This article, presents the case of a 63-year-old male former smoker who was identified by NGS with a rare ALK fusion variant, namely KIF5B-ALK. The patient achieved a partial response (PR) to crizotinib treatment, which lasted 8 months.