Cancer cell lines have made important contributions to the development of anti-cancer drugs, such as the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor gefitinib for the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer (1), inhibitors of the protein kinase BRAF in melanoma (2) and anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) inhibitors for ALK-fusion positive lung cancer (3). This evidence concerns the gene ALK and cancer.