Biological significance of c-met over expression in papillary renal cell carcinoma.
OBJECTIVE
Hereditary papillary renal cell carcinoma is associated with mutations of the c-met proto-oncogene. Similar aberrations have been described at a molecular level in up to 13% of sporadic papillary renal cell carcinomas. We assessed c-met expression in papillary renal cell carcinomas and evaluated the prognostic significance of c-met expression in patients with this tumor.


METHODS
We performed immunohistochemical testing to identify c-met expression in archival specimens of 55 papillary renal cell carcinomas in 51 patients. Only 1 patient reported a family history of renal malignancy.


RESULTS
We identified c-met protein expression in the cytoplasm and cell membrane of 80% and 56% of these tumors, respectively. c-met expression significantly correlated with higher stage tumors (p = 0.004) but it was not associated with Fuhrman nuclear grade (p = 0.157). A trend toward a higher overall survival rate was noted in patients in whom tumors did not express c-met but this association failed to achieve statistical significance (p = 0.07).


CONCLUSIONS
Our study indicates that c-met over expression may be associated with an aggressive phenotype in these tumors.
Sweeney
Paul
P
Department of Urology, University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.
El-Naggar
Adel K
AK
Lin
Sue-Hwa
SH
Pisters
Louis L
LL
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002292:Carcinoma, Renal Cell / Q000235:genetics* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007680:Kidney Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D000090063:Proto-Oncogene Mas; D019859:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-met / Q000235:genetics*; D015996:Survival Rate
C000715470:MAS1 protein, human; D000090063:Proto-Oncogene Mas; D019859:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-met