Aberrant expression of the transcriptional factor Twist1 promotes invasiveness in ALK-positive anaplastic large cell lymphoma

► Twist1 is aberrantly expressed in ALK + ALCL, a type of T-cell lymphoid malignancy. ► Twist1 expression in ALK + ALCL cells can be attributed to the NPM-ALK/STAT3 signaling axis. ► Twist1 regulates the invasiveness of ALK + ALCL. ► The increase of invasiveness in ALK + ALCL cells mediated by Twist1 is linked to AKT and p66Shc. ► Knockdown of Twist1 sensitizes ALK + ALCL cells to Crizotinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor.