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The prevalence and clinical implications of c‐kit expression in plasma cell myeloma
Author(s) -
Pruneri G,
Ponzoni M,
Ferreri A J M,
Freschi M,
Tresoldi M,
Baldini L,
Mattioli M,
Agnelli L,
Govi S,
Mancuso P,
Agazzi A,
Bertolini F,
Peccatori J,
Bosari S,
Gianelli U,
Viale G,
Neri A
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
histopathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.626
H-Index - 124
eISSN - 1365-2559
pISSN - 0309-0167
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2559.2006.02375.x
Subject(s) - immunohistochemistry , plasma cell myeloma , concordance , cd117 , flow cytometry , multiple myeloma , pathology , bone marrow , medicine , plasma cell , cd34 , cancer research , biology , immunology , stem cell , genetics
Aim: To evaluate the clinical implications of c‐kit (CD117) expression in plasma cell myeloma (PCM). Methods and results: We first evaluated the reliability of immunohistochemistry in assessing c‐kit expression by comparing the results with those obtained by flow cytometry and gene expression arrays in 22 PCM and in 10 PCM cell lines. Immunohistochemical results showed a perfect concordance with those of flow cytometry; likewise, immunohistochemical and gene expression data were also concordant in all but one PCM and cell lines analysed. Then, we investigated the clinical implications of c‐kit immunoreactivity in bone marrow biopsies of 85 PCM patients with a mean follow‐up of 41 months. C‐kit immunoreactivity was detected in 24 (28.2%) of the 85 cases and it was significantly associated with a high microvessel density, but not with traditional clinicopathological characteristics or with survival. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that immunohistochemistry is a reliable indicator of c‐kit gene expression and reinforce the notion that approximately one‐third of PCM express high levels of c‐kit. The lack of association with traditional clinicopathological parameters and patient survival suggests that c‐kit expression may not be an adjunct in predicting the clinical course of the disease.