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Lung Cancer Research Foundation, ALK Positive Expand Research Partnership

NEW YORK – The Lung Cancer Research Foundation and patient advocacy organization ALK Positive on Thursday said they will award $2 million in grants to researchers developing therapies for patients with lung tumors harboring ALK gene rearrangements.

The funding announcement represents an expansion of an existing partnership between LCRF and ALK Positive. The two organizations partnered in March 2022 to fund three grants totaling $750,000 for research that improves outcomes for patients with ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

The new grant program will focus on funding studies that explore the biological mechanisms of ALK-positive lung cancer with the goal of developing therapeutics that can increase survival. Funded projects must include a clinical trial and a correlative, translation research program aimed at increasing understanding of ALK-positive lung cancers.

Overall, ALK rearrangements are present in about 5 percent of patients with NSCLC, but in younger patients these mutations occur much more frequently. Around half of NSCLC patients who are diagnosed before age 50 have ALK-positive tumors, while one-third of those diagnosed before age 40 have such alterations. Younger people, women, and patients with little or no smoking history are most at risk for ALK-positive lung cancer.

"It is so important to push for near-term solutions for patients with tumors harboring ALK translocations, as resistance is expected, and options for these patients are limited," LCRF CSO Antoinette Wozniak said in a statement. "Both LCRF and ALK Positive are committed to investing in research that will improve therapeutic options and increase survivorship."