title: Expression of receptor tyrosine kinases and apoptotic molecules in rhabdomyosarcoma: correlation with overall survival in 105 patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is a rare mesenchymal tumor with few treatment options after the failure of first-line therapy. Understanding the expression of kinases and apoptotic molecules in RMS tumors may lead to elucidation of mechanisms of resistance to chemotherapy and development of new therapies.
  
  
  METHODS
  Paraffin-embedded tissue samples were collected from 105 RMS patients treated at the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and examined for the immunohistochemical expression of kinases and apoptotic molecules deemed potential therapeutic targets. Clinicopathologic information was collected on all patients and analyzed for correlation with overall survival (OS).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 105 patients, 44 (42%) were female and 89 (85%) were older than 10 years of age. The 5-year OS for this cohort was 24.7%, with inferior median OS in patients with genitourinary primary tumors and those with invasion through the deep fascial plane. Immunohistochemistry revealed Kit and c-erb-b2 to be present on < 10% of tumors but EGFR, PDGFR-alpha, PDGFR-beta, Bcl-2, and Bax were present in > 40% of tumors. Patients whose tumors expressed PDGFR-alpha were found to have a shorter median OS by multivariate analysis (26 vs 266 months, P = .076). Conversely, patients whose tumors expressed Bax were found to have a longer OS (31 vs 19 months, P = .047).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  EGFR, PDGFR-alpha, PDGFR-beta, Bcl-2, and Bax are frequently expressed in human RMS tissue and may represent new therapeutic targets. Absence of PDGFR-alpha and the presence of Bax are associated with a longer median OS in patients with RMS. Targeting these molecules may be a successful therapeutic strategy.
authors: Department of Sarcoma Medical Oncology, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.
authors: Paul M
authors: PM
authors: Armistead
authors: Jason
authors: J
authors: Salganick
authors: Jae S
authors: JS
authors: Roh
authors: Dejka M
authors: DM
authors: Steinert
authors: Shreyaskumar
authors: S
authors: Patel
authors: Mark
authors: M
authors: Munsell
authors: Adel K
authors: AK
authors: El-Naggar
authors: Robert S
authors: RS
authors: Benjamin
authors: Wei
authors: W
authors: Zhang
authors: Jonathan C
authors: JC
authors: Trent
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D016612:Paraffin Embedding; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D012208:Rhabdomyosarcoma / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology; D016019:Survival Analysis; D046888:Tissue Array Analysis
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases