The heterogeneous landscape of ALK negative ALCL

// Elisabetta Mereu 1 , Elisa Pellegrino 1 , Irene Scarfo 2 , Giorgio Inghirami 1,3 and Roberto Piva 1 1 Department of Molecular Biotechnology and Health Sciences, Center for Experimental Research and Medical Studies, University of Torino, Torino, Italy 2 Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA 3 Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA Correspondence to: Roberto Piva, email: // Keywords : anaplastic large cell lymphoma, molecular classification, therapy, ALK negative Received : October 11, 2016 Accepted : December 27, 2016 Published : January 04, 2017 Abstract Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (ALCL) is a clinical and biological heterogeneous disease including systemic ALK positive and ALK negative entities. Whereas ALK positive ALCLs are molecularly characterized and readily diagnosed, specific immunophenotypic or genetic features to define ALK negative ALCL are missing, and their distinction from other T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas (T-NHLs) can be controversial. In recent years, great advances have been made in dissecting the heterogeneity of ALK negative ALCLs and in providing new diagnostic and treatment options for these patients. A new revision of the World Health Organization (WHO) classification promoted ALK negative ALCL to a definite entity that includes cytogenetic subsets with prognostic implications. However, a further understanding of the genetic landscape of ALK negative ALCL is required to dictate more effective therapeutic strategies specifically tailored for each subgroup of patients.