The CLIP1-LTK fusion is an oncogenic driver in non-small-cell lung cancer.

ABSTRACT

Lung cancer is one of the most aggressive tumour types. Targeted therapies stratified by oncogenic drivers have substantially improved therapeutic outcomes in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC)1. However, such oncogenic drivers are not found in 25-40% of cases of lung adenocarcinoma, the most common histological subtype of NSCLC2. Here we identify a novel fusion transcript of CLIP1 and LTK using whole-transcriptome sequencing in a multi-institutional genome screening platform (LC-SCRUM-Asia, UMIN000036871). The CLIP1-LTK fusion was present in 0.4% of NSCLCs and was mutually exclusive with other known oncogenic drivers. We show that kinase activity of the CLIP1-LTK fusion protein is constitutively activated and has transformation potential. Treatment of Ba/F3 cells expressing CLIP1-LTK with lorlatinib, an ALK inhibitor, inhibited CLIP1-LTK kinase activity, suppressed proliferation and induced apoptosis. One patient with NSCLC harbouring the CLIP1-LTK fusion showed a good clinical response to lorlatinib treatment. To our knowledge, this is the first description of LTK alterations with oncogenic activity in cancers. These results identify the CLIP1-LTK fusion as a target in NSCLC that could be treated with lorlatinib.