Ligation-dependent RT-PCR: a new specific and low-cost technique to detect ALK, ROS, and RET rearrangements in lung adenocarcinoma

International audienceDetection of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), ROS proto-oncogene 1 (ROS1), and rearranged during transfection (RET) gene rearrangements in lung adenocarcinoma is usually performed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) screening followed by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), which is an expensive and difficult technique. Ligation-dependent reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) multiplex technique can detect gene rearrangements using probes specifically hybridized to either side of the break point. PCR products are then sequenced by pyrosequencing or high throughput sequencing in order to identify the two genes involved. The reagent cost is