Traits

Traits linked to ALK

ALK receptor tyrosine kinase

The Human Phenotype Ontology links 68 traits to ALK, by body system: features seen in people with one of the gene's rare conditions.

ALK

Abnormality of the nervous system

Trait	How often it is seen
Ganglioneuroma	Always
Cancer of early nerve cells	Very often (80–99%)
Nervous system cancer	Very often (80–99%)
Antalgic gait	Sometimes (5–29%)
Behavioral abnormality	Sometimes (5–29%)
Epilepsy	Sometimes (5–29%)
Headache	Sometimes (5–29%)
Irritability	Sometimes (5–29%)
Neurodevelopmental delay	Sometimes (5–29%)
Pressure on spinal cord	Sometimes (5–29%)
Rise in pressure inside skull	Sometimes (5–29%)
Too much cerebrospinal fluid in the brain	Sometimes (5–29%)
Ataxia	Rarely (1–4%)
Jerking	Rarely (1–4%)

Abnormality of the integument

Trait	How often it is seen
Abnormal skin pigmentation	Very often (80–99%)
Giant pigmented mole	Very often (80–99%)
Mole	Very often (80–99%)
Dry skin	Often (30–79%)
Lack of sweating	Often (30–79%)
Poor wound healing	Often (30–79%)
Anemic pallor	Sometimes (5–29%)
Cutaneous melanoma	Sometimes (5–29%)
Excessive hair growth	Sometimes (5–29%)
Firm lump under the skin	Sometimes (5–29%)
Itching	Sometimes (5–29%)
Patchy loss of skin color	Sometimes (5–29%)

Abnormality of the digestive system

Trait	How often it is seen
Abdominal bloating	Often (30–79%)
Abdominal mass	Often (30–79%)
Chronic diarrhea	Often (30–79%)
Colorectal polyposis	Often (30–79%)
Multiple intestinal neurofibromatosis	Often (30–79%)
Functional intestinal obstruction	Sometimes (5–29%)
Hamartomatous polyposis	Sometimes (5–29%)
Intermittent abdominal pain	Sometimes (5–29%)
Abnormality of the rectum	Rarely (1–4%)

Laboratory abnormality

Trait	How often it is seen
Elevated urinary catecholamines	Very often (80–99%)
Fever	Often (30–79%)
Elevated serum ferritin	Sometimes (5–29%)
Elevated urinary homovanillic acid	Sometimes (5–29%)
Elevated urinary vanillylmandelic acid	Sometimes (5–29%)
Increased circulating lactate dehydrogenase concentration	Sometimes (5–29%)

Abnormality of blood and blood-forming tissues

Trait	How often it is seen
Low number of red blood cells or hemoglobin	Often (30–79%)
Low platelet count	Often (30–79%)
Abnormality of coagulation	Sometimes (5–29%)
Bleeding tendency	Sometimes (5–29%)
Gastrointestinal bleeding	Rarely (1–4%)

Abnormality of the endocrine system

Trait	How often it is seen
Adrenal abnormalities	Often (30–79%)
Elevated circulating catecholamine level	Often (30–79%)
Neoplasm of the adrenal gland	Sometimes (5–29%)
Premature breast development	Rarely (1–4%)

Abnormality of the musculoskeletal system

Trait	How often it is seen
Bone pain	Sometimes (5–29%)
Spontaneous fracture	Sometimes (5–29%)
Abnormal bone structure	Rarely (1–4%)
Hypophosphatemic rickets	Rarely (1–4%)

Abnormality of the eye

Trait	How often it is seen
Bulging eye	Sometimes (5–29%)
Horner syndrome	Sometimes (5–29%)
Opsoclonus	Rarely (1–4%)

Abnormality of head or neck

Trait	How often it is seen
Abnormality of the eye region	Rarely (1–4%)
Raccoon eyes	Rarely (1–4%)

Abnormality of the cardiovascular system

Trait	How often it is seen
Swollen lymph nodes	Often (30–79%)
High blood pressure	Sometimes (5–29%)

Abnormality of the genitourinary system

Trait	How often it is seen
Abnormality of the prostate	Rarely (1–4%)
Undescended testes	Rarely (1–4%)

Abnormality of the respiratory system

Trait	How often it is seen
Breathing difficulties	Sometimes (5–29%)
Central hypoventilation	Rarely (1–4%)

Abnormality of the thoracic cavity

Trait	How often it is seen
Abnormal mediastinum morphology	Often (30–79%)

Constitutional symptom

Trait	How often it is seen
Fatigue	Often (30–79%)

Growth abnormality

Trait	How often it is seen
Weight loss	Often (30–79%)

How often is among people with one of the gene's conditions, the most often across them, as the Human Phenotype Ontology records it. These pages describe traits and the research behind them; they are not a diagnosis, and a doctor or genetic counsellor is the person to ask about symptoms.

Where this comes from

The Human Phenotype Ontology, release 2026-09-01: the traits linked to ALK and how often each is seen. Find out more at hpo.jax.org.

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