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ras Gene Activation and Infrequent Mutation in Papillary Serous Carcinoma of the Peritoneum
- Source :
- Gynecologic Oncology. 77:105-111
- Publication Year :
- 2000
- Publisher :
- Elsevier BV, 2000.
-
Abstract
- Objective. The ras genes are a well-studied family of proto-oncogenes whose involvement in many cancers has been delineated. However, K- ras mutations have not previously been examined in papillary serous carcinoma of the peritoneum (PSCP), a tumor which resembles serous epithelial ovarian carcinoma (SEOC) both in histology and epidemiology. In this study we examine the role of the K- ras oncogene in PSCP compared to SEOC. Methods. Using single-strand conformational polymorphism analysis and cycle sequencing protocols, we evaluated our collection of 51 cases of PSCP for K- ras mutations and compared these findings with the experience in SEOC. We then examined 5 cases of PSCP for activation of ras proteins and MAP kinase to evaluate the potential involvement of the ras pathway in PSCP tumorigenesis. Results. We found only one K- ras mutation in our 51 cases (2%) of PSCP compared to three mutations in 46 cases (6.5%) of high-grade, late-stage SEOC. This was not significantly different ( P > 0.10). In the single PSCP case with a K- ras mutation, the mutation was found in only one of five tumor sites tested. All four mutations involved a single nucleotide alteration in codon 12 (GGT to GTT, Gly to Val). To evaluate the ras pathway in PSCP, we used the known activated ras binding domain on Raf-1 to perform an assay to test for activated ras. We identified ras activation in 4 of 5 PSCP cases tested and, to confirm that the activation was functional, we tested and found similar activation of MAP kinase, a downstream mediator for K- ras expression. Conclusions. K- ras mutations occur at low rates in both PSCP and high-grade, late-stage SEOC, and therefore K- ras mutations are not involved in the development of these two diseases. Finding the mutation in only one of multiple tumor sites in the PSCP case supports growing evidence for a multifocal origin of PSCP. Our findings of ras activation in four of five cases of PSCP suggest that ras activation by mechanisms other than genetic mutation is important for PSCP tumorigenesis.
- Subjects :
- Transcriptional Activation
Pathology
medicine.medical_specialty
DNA Mutational Analysis
Biology
medicine.disease_cause
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Proto-Oncogene Proteins p21(ras)
medicine
Carcinoma
Humans
Point Mutation
Gene
Peritoneal Neoplasms
Polymorphism, Single-Stranded Conformational
Ovarian Neoplasms
Regulation of gene expression
Mutation
Oncogene
Obstetrics and Gynecology
DNA, Neoplasm
medicine.disease
Serous fluid
Genes, ras
Oncology
Mitogen-activated protein kinase
Cystadenocarcinoma, Papillary
biology.protein
Cancer research
Female
Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases
Carcinogenesis
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 00908258
- Volume :
- 77
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Gynecologic Oncology
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....b7fcf268b155de1ee3861dc32f1af008