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European Journal of Gynaecological Oncology (EJGO) is published by IMR Press from Volume 40 Issue 1 (2019). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with S.O.G.
Original Research
KIT protein expression in uterine sarcomas: an immunohistochemical study and review of the literature
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1
1st Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
2
Department of Pathology, “Hippokration” General Hospital, Thessaloniki (Greece)
Eur. J. Gynaecol. Oncol. 2008, 29(3), 264–266;
Published: 10 June 2008
Abstract
Purpose: The aim of the present study was to investigate the possibility of treating uterine sarcomas with imatinib mesylate. Imatinib mesylate, a selective tyrosine kinase inhibitor, is very efficient against mesenchymal tumors of the gastrointestinal tract, known as GISTs. Imatinib mesylate acts against a tyrosine kinase encoded by the KIT gene in GISTs, and is more effective in tumors expressing this protein. Methods: Expression of KIT was analyzed immunohistochemically (n = 12) in formalin-fixed paraffinembedded primary uterine sarcomas. Results: Using a semi-quantitative immunohistochemical score we found that KIT expression was very weak in the majority of tumors, while none of the uterine sarcomas tested showed strong expression. Overall, published studies addressing this issue in small series of uterine sarcomas yielded similar results. Conclusion: Current data suggest that it is unlikely that imatinib mesylate could be used effectively as a single agent in patients with uterine sarcomas.
Keywords
Uterine sarcoma
KIT
Imatinib mesylate