Recurrence of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) positive adenocarcinoma after 17 years: Case report

Introduction: About four to six percent of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harbor Anaplastic lymphoma kinase rearrangement (ALK). ALK positive NSCLC has a distinct clinicopathological features. In the advanced setting ALK tyrosine kinase inhibitors are used in the first and second line of treatment. However, less is known about the outcome of stage one ALK positive NSCLC. Presentation of case: Our case is a 58 year old man who presented initially with stage one ALK positive NSCLC. He relapsed 17 years later. Discussion: It is very unusual for stage one NSCLC to relapse beyond 10 years. It is surprising that our patient relapsed many years after his initial diagnosis. Conclusion: This may highlight a different biology and outcome. It may also mean a longer follow up is needed for this subset of patients.