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Lymphoma Diagnosis and Treatment / CAR-T Cell Therapy Research · Journal article
Frontiers in Immunology · August 14, 2026
A consensus or society position rather than new primary data.
This editorial reviews ALK-directed immunotherapies—including vaccines, CAR-T, and antibodies—as emerging approaches for pediatric ALK-positive tumors (ALCL, neuroblastoma, inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor). The authors note that ALK acts as an oncoantigen and that preclinical models show efficacy, but that clinical trial data remain to be generated to establish safety and effectiveness.
Journal article. Children and adolescents with ALK-positive tumors, including anaplastic large cell lymphoma, neuroblastoma, and inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor.
ALK has emerged as a critical driver of tumorigenesis in anaplastic large cell lymphoma, neuroblastoma, and inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor Spontaneous ALK-specific humoral and T-cell responses occur in patients with ALK-positive ALCL ALK-directed immunotherapies have shown efficacy in preclinical models of ALK-positive tumors, including ALCL and neuroblastoma
No safety, efficacy, or outcome data are provided for any ALK immunotherapy in pediatric patients
This editorial identifies ALK-directed immunotherapy as a biologically rational strategy for pediatric ALK-positive tumors and indicates that clinical trials are needed to establish safety and efficacy. Clinicians should view this as a summary of emerging approaches rather than evidence ready for clinical implementation.
This is an editorial review synthesizing current knowledge on ALK-directed immunotherapies for pediatric tumors, providing expert perspective on emerging approaches rather than reporting original clinical trial data.
This editorial identifies ALK-directed immunotherapy as a biologically rational strategy for pediatric ALK-positive tumors and indicates that clinical trials are needed to establish safety and efficacy. Clinicians should view this as a summary of emerging approaches rather than evidence ready for clinical implementation.
Graded across the dimensions that decide whether you should act, each from what the source actually supports. There is no single score, and where a dimension was not assessed it says so.
What is missing. This record has no reported figures. That is a gap in the analysis, not a judgement about the study.
Editorial on the research topic Next-Generation Treatment for Pediatric Cancer: Advancing Immunotherapy through Combinations. Cancer remains one of the leading causes of disease-related mortality among children and adolescents. Despite advances in treatments, outcomes for many pediatric tumors remain limited, particularly in patients with high-risk, relapsed, or refractory disease. Standard therapies, including surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and stem cell transplantation, are frequently associated with severe long-term toxicities and secondary malignancies. Resistance and relapse remain major clinical challenges. Recent progress in cancer immunotherapy has revolutionized adult oncology, and remarkable clinical advances have been observed in several pediatric cancers. However, comparable benefits in most solid tumors remain limited. Among molecular targets, anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) has emerged as a critical driver of tumorigenesis in several pediatric malignancies, including anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL), neuroblastoma and inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor. While ALK tyrosine kinase inhibitors have demonstrated clinical benefit, the emergence of resistance highlights the need for alternative or complementary strategies. ALK can act as an oncoantigen, as shown by spontaneous ALK-specific humoral and T-cell responses in patients with ALK-positive ALCL, and ALK-directed immunotherapies have been developed and have shown efficacy in preclinical models of ALK-positive tumors, including ALCL and neuroblastoma. Therefore, ALK-directed immunotherapies represent biologically rational and promising approaches that may, if proven safe and effective in clinical trials, address resistance and improve long-term disease control. In this review, we will discuss ALK-specific immunotherapies, including ALK vaccines, ALK CAR-T and other cellular therapies, as well as ALK-targeting antibodies with a particular focus on pediatric ALK-positive tumors.
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