The discovery of a mechanistic link between acute inhibition of ALK with the TKI LOR, the activities of ERBB3 and AKT1, and the important role of HRG/ERBB3 signalling axis in drug response, opens up new avenues for targeting the ERBB3 and AKT signalling axis in the optimisation of therapy for ALK + NSCLC patients. Here, HRG is linked to non-small cell lung carcinoma.