ALK and squamous cell carcinoma: NSCLC, which arises from epithelial cells (e.g., alveolar cells, bronchial cells) and encompasses several subtypes, primarily adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and large cell carcinoma, is often characterized by a slower proliferation rate and the presence of targetable driver oncogenes (e.g., EGFR, ALK, ROS1) in a significant subset of patients, guiding first-line therapy with specific tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) (Herrera-Juárez et al., 2023; Meyer et al., 2024; Herbst et al., 2018; Sung et al., 2021).