engleski

The c-Kit protein profile of nonseminomatous testicular germ cell tumors

Incidence of testicular germ cell tumors (TGCT) has been continuously rising, with Croatia’s rise being the highest in the world, accompanied by a high rate of mortality compared to other countries. TGCT’s make up 95% of testicular tumors. TGCT are divided into pure seminomatous and non-seminomatous tumors, both considered to originate from germ cell neoplasia in situ (GCNIS) as a precursor lesion. GCNIS is considered to be driven by an interplay of genetic, epigenetic and micro- environmental factors leading up to an arrest of gonocyte differentiation. Currently used biomarkers for testicular cancer lack specificity and sensitivity, and are used as accessories in diagnostics. A deeper look into molecular signature of nonseminomatous tumors is needed, due to their often times aggressive progression and cisplatin resistance. The aim of this study is to analyze protein expression in nonseminomatous tissue as a biomarker TGCT diagnostics and progression. For immunohistochemical detection of c-Kit, 43 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded non- seminomatous TGCT’s from KBC SM were used. Slides were analyzed semi-quantitatively by a pathologists. The data was analyzed in GraphPad Prism using the Mann-Whitney test. The results have shown c-Kit expression in non-seminoma tissue to be comparable to healthy testis tissue. Expression of c-Kit in non-seminoma is almost fully absent, with expression if present localized in the teratoma component. GCNIS is c-Kit positive. The difference c-Kit protein expression between GCNIS versus non-seminoma and healthy testis tissue shows potential in by exclusion of non-seminoma during diagnosis, and opens questions on the role of c-Kit in non- seminoma development and differentiation.

C-kit ; non seminoma

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