“Diamond mutation” in detection of non-small cell lung cancer — alk genetic integration
In the mysterious world of cancer, non-small-cell lung cancer is like a vast area with a dark shadow, and the alk genetic confluence mutation is like a diamond, shining a unique light that attracts the eyes of countless medical researchers and patients. Today, let’s go into this wonderful and challenging area and unmask the mysterious veil of alk genetic integration.
Imagine that our body is a large and sophisticated machine, and each cell is a small part of that machine, and they do their job and keep the whole machine running. Genes, like the design blueprints of these parts, determine how cells grow, divide and function. Sometimes, however, these blueprints are wrong, and the AlK gene integration is one such “design error” that occurs in non-small cell lung cancer.
AK, known as Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase, had its own normal responsibilities in our bodies, like a small craftsman working quietly in a given position. But when the alk gene mutated, it was as if the little craftsman had been caught up in a chaotic magic storm, and it was closely linked to other fragments that should not have been combined, creating a new, out-of-control “monster gene”. The monster’s genetics are incredible, and it can cause cells to grow and split like a distraught Mustang, completely ignoring the whole of the larger machine, so that non-small cell lung cancer can breed in such chaos.
The alk gene convergence is called a “diamond mutation” not only because its name sounds taller. First of all, it has a relatively low incidence of non-small cell lung cancer, about 3 – 7 per cent, as rare as diamonds in many stones. But it is more precious because it is rare, because it has unique therapeutic advantages. For non-small-cell lung cancer patients with a mutation of the AK gene, target-oriented treatment is like a magic key tailored for them. Targeting drugs are able to identify precisely those cells that have become mad as a result of the integration of the AK gene, and then, like precision-guided missiles, strike the yellow dragons and launch a powerful attack on the cancer cells, with as little harm as possible to the normal cells in the body. It’s quite different from traditional chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is like a big broom that sweeps through the body, and although it cleans up a lot of cancer cells, it also wipes out a lot of innocent normal cells and exposes the patient to the side effects of many pains, such as nausea, vomiting, hair loss. The target-oriented treatment, in which patients tend to maintain a relatively good quality of life, is as if there was only a silent precision battle in the body, and the outside world still works.
Some of the ALK inhibitors that are currently used in clinical practice have given new hope to the countless patients carrying the ALK gene integration mutations. After many patients had taken these drugs, the tumours in the lungs had been significantly reduced, and the symptoms of cough and gas shorts had been greatly mitigated, as if the light had returned from the darkness of cancer. They can walk, talk and enjoy the good things of life with their families, as they used to do, instead of lying on sick beds all day and dying. However, just as no battle is going to go smoothly, there are a number of challenges to the targeted treatment of the gene integration of the AlK. With the time of treatment, cancer cells are also cunning, and they can undergo a new mutation, like a new “mass” to make the otherwise effective target-to-drugs less effective, known as drug resistance. But scientists can’t easily accept it, and they’ve been working on a new generation of AK inhibitors, constantly upgrading our “weapons arsenal” against cancer cells, trying to overcome the problem of anti-drugs, so that patients can benefit from targeted treatment for longer periods of time.
From the discovery of a “diamond mutation” of the AK gene, to the ongoing development of effective target-to-treatment drugs, to the continuing exploration of drug resistance, the path has brought together the hearts and sweat of countless medical scientists. Every breakthrough, the birth of every new drug, like a light in the dark, gives more hope to those who suffer from non-small cell lung cancer.
In the future, we have reason to believe that, as technology continues to develop and medical research advances, the secret about the integration of the AlK gene will be revealed and its treatment will be better and more accurate. By that time, this “diamond mutation”, which shines in the field of non-small cell lung cancer, will no longer be a frightening presence, but an important milestone in our journey to overcome cancer, leading us to a bright future free of cancer. Let’s all look forward to that day coming soon!
Non-small cell cancer
