Evaluation of c-Kit (CD117) expression in patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and basal cell carcinoma (BCC) of the skin

Abstract

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) of the skin are the most common malignant tumors in humans. The c-Kit (CD117) is a tyrosine kinase receptor protein that affects the behavior of some tumors and can be a target for new treatments. This study was designed to determine the expression of CD117 in patients with SCC and BCC. In this retrospective study, 69 paraffin blocks of specimens with a diagnosis of SCC and BCC from limbs, head/neck, trunk, and unknown sites were selected. Tumor tissue samples of 40 SCC and 29 BCC cases were then analyzed by immunohistochemistry. The monoclonal CD117 antibody was used. The severity and extent of tumor staining were grouped as follows: negative; weakly positive; moderately positive; and strongly positive. The CD117 was detected positive in 26 (89.7%) BCCs and only in 5 (12.5%) of SCCs. We detected a significant difference between the expression of CD117 in patients with SCC and BCC (P 0.05). On the contrary, a significant relationship between CD117 expression and histopathologic grading was identified in patients with SCC (P < 0.05). According to our results, the expression of CD117 is significantly increased in BCCs than SCCs and this may be of benefit for diagnostic purposes in challenging cases and also for therapeutic purposes including targeted therapy if indicated.

Keywords

• squamous cell carcinoma
• basal cell carcinoma
• immunohistochemistry
• c-kit
• cd117