THE ROLE OF BASIC FIBROBLAST GROWTH FACTOR RECEPTOR (bFGF) AND C-KIT RECEPTOR IN PROGRESSION OF CUTANEOUS MELANOCYTIC LESIONS

Abstract

Objective: We investigated the expression of basic Fibroblast Growth Factor (bFGF) and c-kit proto-oncogene in progression to malignancy and métastasés of melanocytic lesions.Methods: Immunohistochemical detection of bFGF and c-kit receptors were performed by peroxidase- antiperoxidase (PAP) technique on compound nevi, vertical growth phase malignant melanoma and metastatic malignant melanoma in 12, 12 and 15 cases respectively.Clinicopathological correlations were analysed by Paerson’s Chi-Square, Student’s T-Test and One Way Anova test.Results: bFGF receptor immunoreactivity rates were 83.3%, 83.3% and 80 % in compound nevi, primary MMs and metastatic MMs respectively, c-kit immunoreactivity was absent in nevus cells, but faintly present in 16.6 % (2 cases) of MM cells.Conclusion: The results of our study suggest that loss of c-kit expression is more important in dermal penetration than métastasés in melanomas.However, bFGF is not shown to be a prognostic factor for MMs.Key Words: c-kit, bFGF, Melanocytic nevi, Malignant melanoma, Metastatic melanoma