distinct tyrosine kinases and over 2500 downstream substrates, with the goal of identifying candidate oncogenes. In a sampling of 96 tissue samples from NSCLC patients, approximately 30% displayed high levels of phosphotyrosine expression; further analysis was conducted to identify highly phosphorylated tyrosine kinases in NSCLC from a panel of 41 NSCLC cell lines, and 150 patient samples. Among the top 20 receptor tyrosine kinases identified in this analysis, 15 were identified in both cell lines and tumors, and among these were both ALK and ROS1. These initial findings paved the way for more expansive analyses of ROS1 kinase fusions in NSCLC and other cancers. Fusion prevalence In patients with NSCLC, approximately 2% are positive for a ROS1 gene rearrangement, and these rearrangements are mutually exclusive of ALK rearrangement. ROS1 fusion-positive patients tend to be younger, with a median age of 49.8 years, and never-smokers, with a diagnosis of adenocarcinoma. There is a higher representation of Asian ethnicity and patients with Stage IV disease. ROS1 rearrangements are estimated to be roughly half as common as ALK-rearranged NSCLCs. Similar to ALK-rearranged, ROS1-rearranged NSCLC have younger age of onset and a non-smoking history. A benefit of a small-molecule ALK, ROS1 , and cMET inhibitor, crizotinib, was also shown in this patient group. ROS1 expression was found in approximately 2% of NSCLC patients, and its expression was limited to those patients with ROS1 gene fusions. Similar findings were reported in a separate analysis of 447 NSCLC samples, of which 1.2% were found to be positive for ROS1 rearrangement; this study also confirmed the activity of the ALK/ROS1 /cMET inhibitor crizotinib in ROS1 -positive tumors. ROS1 fusions were also identified in approximately 2% of adenocarcinomas and 1% of glioblastoma samples in an assessment of kinase fusions across different cancers. Table 1: Sampling of ROS1 Rearrangements Observed in NSCLC and Other Cancers. All of the kinase fusions retain the tyrosine kinase domain of ROS1 . List is not exhaustive. (Adapted from Stumpfova 2012). * Multiple variant isoforms observed CD74; cluster of differentiation 74, long/short isoforms; EZR; ezrin; FIG; fused in glioblastoma; SDC4; LRIG3; leucine-rich repeats and immunoglobulin-like domains 3; SDC; syndecan 4; SLC34A2; solute carrier family 34 (sodium phosphate), member 2; TPM3; tropomyosin 3 As a drug target Several drugs target ROS1 fusions in cancer, with varying levels of success; most of the drugs to date have been tested only for ROS1-positive non-small cell lung carcinoma