A team of researchers in Germany has developed a new assay to help determine which non-small cell lung cancers are likely to respond to certain targeted therapies.

As a screen for gene rearrangements, the assay uses quantitative reverse transcription-PCR to show altered ratios of 3' to 5' ends of the aplastic lymphoma tyrosine kinase, or ALK gene, rather than specific mutations. It is also optimized to work on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue samples.