c-kit expression in adenocarcinomas of the lung

The tyrosine-kinase receptor c-kit (CD117) and its ligand stem cell factor are considered to be co-expressed in various solid tumors, including adenocarcinomas of the lung. The frequency of c-kit expression and its association with clinical parameters has not yet been evaluated in a larger population of lung adenocarcinomas. Therefore, tumor tissue of 95 consecutive patients with adenocarcinoma of the lung was stained using a polyclonal c-kit antibody. c-kit expression was correlated with relevant clinical parameters obtained by chart review. Positive c-kit expression in tumor tissue was observed in 61 of 95 patients (64%). Univariate analysis showed a significant effect of T (p = 0.003), N (p = 0.001) and M stage (p < 0.001) as well as of performance status (p = 0.001), surgical resection (p < 0.001), and LDH serum levels (p = 0.016) on survival. In contrast, c-kit protein expression was non- significant (p = 0.913). However, multivariate Cox regression with the influential parameters revealed a significant effect of c-kit expression on survival. Forward stepwise selection showed a 1.77-fold increased risk to die (hazard ratio, HR; 95% confidence interval, CI: 1.00-3.14, p = 0.047) for patients with c-kit-positive tumors. Similar data for c-kit expression were obtained by backward stepwise selection (HR: 1.78; 95% CI: 1.00-3.16; p = 0.044). In conclusion, the receptor tyrosine kinase c-kit is frequently expressed in adenocarcinomas of the lung and has a relevant effect on patient survival. The results of this study support clinical trials targeting the c-kit receptor with specific c-kit inhibitors (e.g. imatinib).