Analyses of novel prognostic factors in neuroblastoma patients.
Neuroblastoma (NB) is the most common malignant solid tumor in childhood. There are well-recognized prognostic factors in NB such as age at diagnosis, organ of origin, stages, MYCN gene amplification, and expression of H-ras, trkA and survivin. Moreover, we investigated the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), p53, stem cell factor (SCF) and c-kit of its receptor with quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in 22 NBs and 4 other tumors (one malignant lymphoma, one malignant teratoma, and 2 rhabdomyosarcomas) samples. The correlation between patients' prognoses and the expression of TH or c-kit was newly recognized, particularly the good prognosis in patients in whom c-kit highly expressed and the poor prognosis contrarily associated with low or no expression, although the SCF of its ligand had no relationship with patient prognosis. It is possible that tumors without c-kit expression can not react with SCF (via the autocrine or paracrine system) and remain immature. It may be that this is a new critical clinical event in NB patients.
Ootsuka
Susumu
S
Research Unit of Clinical Medicine, College of Pharmacy, Nihon University, 7-7-1 Narashinodai, Funabashi-shi, Chiba 274-8555, Japan.
Asami
Satoru
S
Sasaki
Takae
T
Yoshida
Yoshikazu
Y
Nemoto
Norimichi
N
Shichino
Hiroyuki
H
Chin
Motoaki
M
Mugishima
Hideo
H
Suzuki
Takashi
T
D000293:Adolescent; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D016158:Genes, p53 / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009447:Neuroblastoma / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology*; D011379:Prognosis; D019009:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D020917:Receptor, trkA / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D019089:Stem Cell Factor / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D019089:Stem Cell Factor; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase; D019009:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit; D020917:Receptor, trkA