RANBP2 and CLTC are involved in ALK rearrangements in inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors (IMTs) are rare soft tissue tumors occurring primarily in children and young adults. ALK gene rearrangements have been identified in this neoplasm, with fusion of the ALK gene at 2p23 to a number of different partner genes. Metaphase cytogenetic analyses of these tumors have been relatively few, however, and may help to identify additional variant partners. We report on an IMT from a 2-year-old boy with a karyotype of 45,XY,der(2)inv(2)(p23q12)del(2)(p11.1p11.2),−22. FISH showed ALK–RANBP2 fusion in this tumor. The breakpoint was cloned and the fusion was confirmed, making this the third reported case of IMT with ALK–RANBP2 fusion. In addition, we identified the ALK fusion partner in a previously reported IMT with t(2;17)(p23;q23) as CLTC, a gene reported to be involved in four other IMTs, and showed that the breakpoint involved a novel ALK–CLTC fusion. FISH evaluation of nine other IMTs identified CLTC as the fusion partner in one additional case, but RANBP2 was not involved in the remaining eight IMTs, suggesting that the variant partners involved in ALK rearrangements in IMTs are diverse.