In the present study, the mutation rate of a 4-gene panel (EGFR, NRAS, KRAS and BRAF), ALK gene rearrangements and MET amplification was evaluated in patients with SCLC who had enough tissue for molecular analysis after diagnosis between the 1st July 1990 and 1st September 2006 (Fig. 1). Here, ALK is linked to small cell lung carcinoma.