LTK
Overview
LTK (Leukocyte Receptor Tyrosine Kinase) is a receptor tyrosine kinase in the ALK/LTK subfamily. In cancer genomics, LTK is primarily known as a fusion partner in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), where rearrangements produce kinase-activating structural variants. LTK fusions have been identified as non-recurrent drivers in PTC by TCGA integrated genomic analysis.
Alterations observed in the corpus
- LTK fusion detected in 1 of ~484 PTC tumors profiled; categorized among non-recurrent receptor tyrosine kinase fusions alongside MET fusions in the TCGA integrated genomic characterization of papillary thyroid carcinoma PMID:25417114
Cancer types (linked)
- THPA (Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma): Non-recurrent LTK fusion identified in the TCGA PTC cohort (n=484); functionally grouped with other RTK fusions as potential drivers contributing to the BVL (BRAF-like) transcriptome class PMID:25417114
Co-occurrence and mutual exclusivity
- LTK fusions, like other gene fusions in PTC, are expected to be mutually exclusive with BRAFV600E and RAS point mutations based on the general mutual exclusivity of MAPK drivers in PTC PMID:25417114
Therapeutic relevance
- As a receptor tyrosine kinase fusion, LTK-rearranged PTC may be amenable to kinase inhibitor therapy; specifics remain under investigation given the non-recurrent frequency PMID:25417114
Open questions
- The exact fusion partner(s) for LTK in PTC and functional characterization of kinase activation are not described in this corpus.
Sources
This page was processed by crosslinker on 2026-05-14.