title: Heterogeneity of c-Met expression in Chinese gastric cancer patients.
abstract: c-Met is an attractive target for gastric cancer (GC) therapy, and detection of c-Met expression is critical for diagnosis. The aims of this study were to quantify the heterogeneous expression of c-Met in GC and to explore its impact on diagnosis. The expression of c-Met in 199 tumor fragments derived from 47 GC patients was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. In parallel, copy numbers of MET were determined by fluorescence in situ hybridization. Expression of c-Met was observed in 22 patients, and 18 (81.8%) of 22 were heterogeneous; but the incidence rate of heterogeneity was not significantly different among patient subgroups with various degrees of c-Met expression. MET copies were increased in 4 patients. Two represented polysomy, and 2 were caused by amplification. Expression of c-Met in MET-amplified tumors was homogeneous. In conclusion, heterogeneity of c-Met expression was widely observed in GC but was not associated with the extent of expression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Ren Ji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200127, PR China.
authors.forename: Chunchao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Ren Ji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200127, PR China.
authors.forename: Jia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Ren Ji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200127, PR China.
authors.forename: Maoran
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Ren Ji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200127, PR China. Electronic address: zhaogang74313@126.com.
authors.forename: Gang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Ren Ji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200127, PR China. Electronic address: caohuishcn@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cao
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044466:Asian People; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019859:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-met / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D019859:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-met
keywords: Amplification; Gastric cancer; Heterogeneity; Homogeneity; Overexpression; c-Met