Age and smoking intensity in non-small cell lung cancer patients with the anaplastic lymphoma kinase fusion gene

Yosuke Maezawa; Manato Taguchi; Takeshi Kawakami; Toshihide Inui; Shinichiro Okauchi; Takeshi Numata; Toshihiro Shiozawa; Kunihiko Miyazaki; Ryota Nakamura; Kesato Iguchi; Takeo Endo; Tohru Sakamoto; Hiroaki Satoh; Nobuyuki Hizawa

doi:10.5114/wo.2025.148231

eISSN: 1897-4309
ISSN: 1428-2526

Contemporary Oncology/Współczesna Onkologia

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1/2025
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abstract:

Original paper

Age and smoking intensity in non-small cell lung cancer patients with the anaplastic lymphoma kinase fusion gene

Yosuke Maezawa

¹

,

Manato Taguchi

²

,

Takeshi Kawakami

²

,

Toshihide Inui

³

,

Shinichiro Okauchi

¹

,

Takeshi Numata

⁴

,

Toshihiro Shiozawa

³

,

Kunihiko Miyazaki

⁵

,

Ryota Nakamura

⁴

,

Kesato Iguchi

¹

,

Takeo Endo

⁴

,

Tohru Sakamoto

⁶

,

Hiroaki Satoh

¹

,

Nobuyuki Hizawa

³

Mito Medical Centre, University of Tsukuba-Mito Kyodo General Hospital, Mito Japan
Kobari General Hospital, Noda, Japan
University of Tsukuba Hospital, Tsukuba, Japan
National Hospital Organization Mito Medical Centre, Mito, Japan
Ryugasaki Saiseikai Hospital, Ryugasaki, Japan
Tsukuba Memorial Hospital, Tsukuba, Japan

Contemp Oncol (Pozn) 2025; 29 (1): 93–98

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5114/wo.2025.148231

Online publish date: 2025/03/07

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AMA

Maezawa Y, Taguchi M, Kawakami T, et al. Age and smoking intensity in non-small cell lung cancer patients with the anaplastic lymphoma kinase fusion gene. Contemporary Oncology/Współczesna Onkologia. 2025;29(1):93-98. doi:10.5114/wo.2025.148231.

APA

Maezawa, Y., Taguchi, M., Kawakami, T., Inui, T., Okauchi, S.,  & Numata, T. et al. (2025). Age and smoking intensity in non-small cell lung cancer patients with the anaplastic lymphoma kinase fusion gene. Contemporary Oncology/Współczesna Onkologia, 29(1), 93-98. https://doi.org/10.5114/wo.2025.148231

Chicago

Maezawa, Yosuke, Manato Taguchi, Takeshi Kawakami, Toshihide Inui, Shinichiro Okauchi, Takeshi Numata,  and Toshihiro Shiozawa et al. 2025. "Age and smoking intensity in non-small cell lung cancer patients with the anaplastic lymphoma kinase fusion gene". Contemporary Oncology/Współczesna Onkologia 29 (1): 93-98. doi:10.5114/wo.2025.148231.

Harvard

Maezawa, Y., Taguchi, M., Kawakami, T., Inui, T., Okauchi, S., Numata, T., Shiozawa, T., Miyazaki, K., Nakamura, R., Iguchi, K., Endo, T., Sakamoto, T., Satoh, H.,  and Hizawa, N. (2025). Age and smoking intensity in non-small cell lung cancer patients with the anaplastic lymphoma kinase fusion gene. Contemporary Oncology/Współczesna Onkologia, 29(1), pp.93-98. https://doi.org/10.5114/wo.2025.148231

MLA

Maezawa, Yosuke et al. "Age and smoking intensity in non-small cell lung cancer patients with the anaplastic lymphoma kinase fusion gene." Contemporary Oncology/Współczesna Onkologia, vol. 29, no. 1, 2025, pp. 93-98. doi:10.5114/wo.2025.148231.

Vancouver

Maezawa Y, Taguchi M, Kawakami T, Inui T, Okauchi S, Numata T et al. Age and smoking intensity in non-small cell lung cancer patients with the anaplastic lymphoma kinase fusion gene. Contemporary Oncology/Współczesna Onkologia. 2025;29(1):93-98. doi:10.5114/wo.2025.148231.

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Introduction:
It is widely accepted that anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) fusion gene-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients are more likely to be in their 50s, female, and non-smoking. This seems to be due to the background of patients involved in clinical trials of ALK-tyrosine kinase inhibitors. However, in daily clinical practice, it is not uncommon to encounter elderly ALK-positive NSCLC patients with a smoking history. In light of this background, we conducted a survey to clarify the clinical backgrounds of ALK-positive patients with NSCLC, particularly regarding age and smoking.

Material and methods:
A retrospective medical chart survey of patients with ALK-positive NSCLC diagnosed in 2012 to 2024 in our six institutes was conducted.

Results:
During the study period, 140 patients were diagnosed with ALK-positive NSCLC, of which 90 (64.3%) were women. The median age of all 140 patients was 63 years (range, 26–84 years). Among these 140 patients, 38.6% had a history of smoking. There was a significant difference in the distribution of smokers by sex and age.

Conclusions:
Even among NSCLC patients who are elderly or have a history of smoking, there may be some who miss out on the best possible treatment by exclusion from ALK testing. Discussions considering the efficiency and cost of testing are needed, and it is essential to collect and reanalyse as much information as possible about the clinical characteristics of ALK-positive NSCLC patients.

keywords:

Age and smoking intensity in non-small cell lung cancer patients with the anaplastic lymphoma kinase fusion gene

Yosuke Maezawa 1 , Manato Taguchi 2 , Takeshi Kawakami 2 , Toshihide Inui 3 , Shinichiro Okauchi 1 , Takeshi Numata 4 , Toshihiro Shiozawa 3 , Kunihiko Miyazaki 5 , Ryota Nakamura 4 , Kesato Iguchi 1 , Takeo Endo 4 , Tohru Sakamoto 6 , Hiroaki Satoh 1 , Nobuyuki Hizawa 3

anaplastic lymphoma kinase fusion gene, ALK, non-small cell lung cancer, driver gene, gender, age, smoking