Expression profiling of receptor tyrosine kinases in high-grade neuroendocrine carcinoma of the lung: a comparative analysis with adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

As the comprehensive genomic analysis of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) progresses, novel treatments for this disease need to be explored. With attention to the direct connection between the receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) of tumor cells and the pharmacological effects of specific inhibitors, we systematically assessed the RTK expressions of high-grade neuroendocrine carcinomas of the lung [HGNECs, including SCLC and large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC)].

PATIENTS AND METHODS:

Fifty-one LCNEC and 61 SCLC patients who underwent surgical resection were enrolled in this research. As a control group, 202 patients with adenocarcinomas (ADCs) and 122 patients with squamous cell carcinomas (SQCCs) were also analyzed. All the tumors were stained with antibodies for 10 RTKs: c-Kit, EGFR, IGF1R, KDR, ERBB2, FGFR1, c-Met, ALK, RET, and ROS1.

RESULTS:

The LCNEC and SCLC patients exhibited similar clinicopathological characteristics. The IHC scores for each RTK were almost equivalent between the LCNEC and SCLC groups, but they were significantly different from those of the ADC or SQCC groups. In particular, c-Kit was the only RTK that was remarkably expressed in both LCNECs and SCLCs. On the other hand, about 20 % of the HGNEC tumors exhibited strongly positive RTK expression, and this rate was similar to those for the ADC and SQCC tumors. Intriguingly, strongly positive RTKs were almost mutually exclusive in individual tumors.

CONCLUSIONS:

Compared with ADC or SQCC, LCNEC and SCLC had similar expression profiles for the major RTKs. The exclusive c-Kit positivity observed among HGNECs suggests that c-Kit might be a distinctive RTK in HGNEC.

• Authors: Yuki Matsumura, Shigeki Umemura, Genichiro Ishii, Koji Tsuta, Shingo Matsumoto, Keiju Aokage, Tomoyuki Hishida, Junji Yoshida, Yuichiro Ohe, Hiroyuki Suzuki, Atsushi Ochiai, Koichi Goto, Kanji Nagai, Katsuya Tsuchihara
• Journal: Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology (J Cancer Res Clin Oncol) Vol. 141 Issue 12 Pg. 2159-70 (Dec 2015) ISSN: 1432-1335 [Electronic] Germany
• PMID: 25989941 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Biomarkers, Tumor
• Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit

Topics

• Adenocarcinoma (enzymology, mortality, pathology)
• Adult
• Aged
• Aged, 80 and over
• Biomarkers, Tumor (metabolism)
• Carcinoma, Large Cell (enzymology, mortality, pathology)
• Carcinoma, Neuroendocrine (enzymology, mortality, pathology)
• Carcinoma, Squamous Cell (enzymology, mortality, pathology)
• Female
• Follow-Up Studies
• Humans
• Immunoenzyme Techniques
• Lung Neoplasms (enzymology, mortality, pathology)
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Neoplasm Invasiveness
• Neoplasm Staging
• Prognosis
• Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit (metabolism)
• Small Cell Lung Carcinoma (enzymology, mortality, pathology)
• Survival Rate
• Young Adult