We also found several novel ALK fusion events, including a TPM1–ALK fusion in bladder cancer, a SMEK2–ALK fusion in rectal adenocarcinoma and a GTF2IRD1–ALK fusion in thyroid cancer (Fig. 1, Supplementary Fig. 2), adding weight to the emerging notion that known driver events in certain tumours can also play a role in other tumour types, regardless of histology. Here, ALK is linked to urinary bladder cancer.