Review

Detection of NTRK gene fusions in solid tumors: recommendations from a Latin American group of oncologists and pathologists

Academic Unit of Oncology, Hospital de Clínicas Dr. Manuel Quintela, Montevideo, Uruguay

Departmento of Clinical Pathology, Instituto de Medicina Traslacional e Ingeniería Biomédica (IMTIB), Hospital Italiano, Buenos Aires, Argentina

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Fuad Huamán-Garaicoa

Instituto de Salud Integral (ISAIN), Universidad Católica, Santiago de Guayaquil (Ecuador), Department of Pathology, Sociedad de Lucha Contra el Cáncer del Ecuador (SOLCA), Guayaquil, Ecuador

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Paulina Irigoyen-Piñeiros

Clinical Oncology, Hospital Fuerzas Armadas, Quito, Ecuador

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César O Lara-Torres

https://orcid.org/0009-0008-5483-0487

Laboratory of Molecular Pathology, Instituto Nacional de Cancerología, Ciudad de México, México

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Manglio M Rizzo

Cancer Immunobiology Laboratory, Instituto de Investigaciones en Medicina Traslacional (IIMT), Facultad de Ciencias Biomédicas, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Universidad Austral, Derqui-Pilar, Argentina

Department of Medical Oncology, Hospital Universitario Austral, Derqui-Pilar, Argentina

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Miguel Ticona-Castro

Service of Medical Oncology, Hospital Nacional Edgardo Rebagliati Martins, EsSalud – Jesús María, Lima (Perú), Clínica Montefiori, La Molina, Lima, Perú

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Rogelio Trejo

Department of Medical Oncology, Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI, Ciudad de México, México

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Pablo Zoroquiain

*Author for correspondence:

E-mail Address: zoroquiain@gmail.com

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3164-1842

Pathology Department, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile

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Published Online:13 Dec 2023https://doi.org/10.2217/fon-2023-0552

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Abstract

NTRK gene fusions have been detected in more than 25 types of tumors and their prevalence is approximately 0.3% in solid tumors. This low prevalence makes identifying patients who could benefit from TRK inhibitors a considerable challenge. Furthermore, while numerous papers on the evaluation of NTRK fusion genes are available, not all countries have guidelines that are suitable for their setting, as is the case with Latin America. Therefore, a group of oncologists and pathologists from several countries in Latin America (Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay) met to discuss and reach consensus on how to identify patients with NTRK gene fusions in solid tumors. To do so, they developed a practical algorithm, considering their specific situation and limitations.

Keywords:

Papers of special note have been highlighted as: • of interest; •• of considerable interest

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Vol. 19, No. 40

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Received 27 June 2023

Accepted 14 November 2023

Published online 13 December 2023

Published in print December 2023

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Author contributions

All authors contributed extensively to the work presented in this paper. All authors have contributed significantly to the conception, design, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data. All authors have participated in drafting, reviewing, and/or revising the manuscript and have approved its submission.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank SLAP (Sociedad Latinoamericana de Patología) for critical review of the paper and Fernando Sánchez Barbero PhD, on behalf of Content Ed Net, for providing medical writing assistance.

Financial disclosure

The authors have no financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Competing interests disclosure

As part of the ACCORD Project, Roche LATAM, set up the expert's meeting to discuss the NTRK fusion-driven cancer diagnostics in real-world clinical settings. The authors have no other competing interests or relevant affiliations with any organization or entity with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

Writing disclosure

Medical writing support was provided by Content Ed Net and was funded by Roche LATAM.

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