Assessment of CD117/KIT expression in canine mammary neoplasms and its relationship with prognosis

• Grant number: 24/13922-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: October 01, 2024
• End date: September 30, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Animal Pathology
• Principal Investigator: Ricardo de Francisco Strefezzi
• Grantee: Raihane da Cruz Toledo Barbosa
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Zootecnia e Engenharia de Alimentos (FZEA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Pirassununga , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Mammary neoplasms are the most common in bitches and racial, hormonal and nutritionalfactors appear to be involved in their development. Tumours are composed by amicroenvironment that houses cancer stem cells (CSCs) among other cell types, which areimportant for neoplastic maintenance and progression. The role of the tumour subpopulationof stem cells was characterized as relevant to the metastatic process, tumour recurrence andresistance to antineoplastic treatments, being a problem of great relevance in human andveterinary medicine. To identify CSCs, several markers are used, including CD117/KIT, atyrosine kinase receptor encoded by the KIT gene, which performs physiological functions ofdifferentiation, proliferation, migration and survival in various cell types, and which thereforemutations can exert pro-neoplastic effects. The present study aims to characterize theexpression of CD117/KIT in mammary neoplasms of dogs and to verify its association withclinical staging, histological type and grade, and patient survival time. KIT expression will beevaluated using immunohistochemistry with an anti-KIT antibody, and the analysis will be doneby determining the percentage of positive cells and staining intensity. Then, the results will becompared with the histological classification and grading, clinical staging and survival time ofthe dogs, to verify the prognostic value of this tyrosine kinase receptor. (AU)