Korean J Pathol.  2006 Jun;40(3):210-216.

Correlations between the Expression of c-Abl, c-Kit, Platelet-derived Growth Factor Receptor (PDGFR)-alpha and PDGFR-beta and Survival in Patients with Ovarian Cancer

• Lee H
• Lee KH
• Lee KY
• Kang CS

Abstract

BACKGROUND :Protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs) such as c-Abl, c-KIT, PDGFR-alpha and PDGFR-bata are key proteins in the regulation of cell growth. In this study, we evaluated the correlations between the expression of c-Abl, c-KIT, PDGFR-alpha and PDGFR-beta and the survival of patients with ovarian cancer.
METHODS
We performed the immunohistochemistry for 102 patients with ovarian cancer and we retrospectively reviewed the overall and disease free survival and also the response to platinum-based chemotherapy in those patients.
RESULTS
The short disease free survival rate was significantly associated with the increased expression of PDGFR-alpha (p=0.0459). The short overall survival time in patients with advanced (stage III and IV) ovarian cancer was associated with the overexpression of c-Abl (p=0.0268) and the reduced expression of c-KIT (p=0.0307). On multivariate analysis, the tumor stage and c-Abl maintained their prognostic influence. Meanwhile, none of the four PTK expression patterns predicted the response to the platinum-based chemotherapy.
CONCLUSIONS
Our data suggest that for patients with advanced ovarian cancer, the overexpression of c-Abl and the reduced expression of c-KIT might be used as poor prognostic factors for overall survival. It is further noteworthy that the tumor stage and c-Abl may be useful in predicting the patients' survival. Although any of the four PTKs could not predict the response to platinum chemotherapy, the expression of the kinases targeted by tyrosine kinase inhibitor suggests the potential usefulness of imatinib mesylate for the treatment of ovarian cancer.

Keyword

Protein tyrosine kinase; Immunohistochemistry; Ovarian neoplasm; Survival

MeSH Terms

Disease-Free Survival
Drug Therapy
Humans
Immunohistochemistry
Mesylates
Multivariate Analysis
Ovarian Neoplasms*
Phosphotransferases
Platelet-Derived Growth Factor*
Platinum
Protein-Tyrosine Kinases
Receptors, Platelet-Derived Growth Factor*
Retrospective Studies
Imatinib Mesylate
Mesylates
Phosphotransferases
Platelet-Derived Growth Factor
Platinum
Protein-Tyrosine Kinases
Receptors, Platelet-Derived Growth Factor