Immunohistochemical Expression of c-kit in Invasive Breast Carcinoma of Different Nuclear Grades
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- Category: Vol. 80, June 2012
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Immunohistochemical Expression of c-kit in Invasive Breast Carcinoma of Different Nuclear Grades,ABDALLAH M. KHALIL, ESSAM E. AYAD and SAMAR A. EL-SHEIKH
Abstract
Breast cancer is the most common malignancy among women worldwide with increasing incidence rates. The as-sessment of prognostic factors in order to provide prediction of outcome has become an essential part of the histopatholo-gist's role in handling and reporting invasive breast carcinomas. c-kit is a transmembrane tyrosine kinase that acts as a type III receptor for mast cell growth factor. In recent years, the role of c-kit in the development of preinvasive and invasive breast carcinomas has been investigated. This work aimed at studying c-kit expression in different types and grades of invasive breast carcinoma. A retrospective immunohistochem-ical study was conducted on 50 cases of modified radical mastectomy and quadrentectomy with axillary clearance specimens diagnosed as invasive breast carcinoma (42 invasive duct NOS, five lobular, two medullary, and a single case of mucinous carcinoma. Cases other than invasive duct carcinoma NOS (8/50) were grouped together under the category of (others) for statistical purposes.
c-kit (CD117) immunohistochemical staining was evalu-ated in the cytoplasm/cell membrane in epithelial cells of each case. A significant correlation was detected between nuclear grade and c-kit expression in tumor cells in different types of invasive breast carcinoma. In conclusion, these findings strongly suggest that c-kit may play a role in breast cancer progression, allowing therapy to be adjusted more appropriately for individual tumors.