ABSTRACT KIT protein is associated with the etiology of canine mast cell tumors (MCT); however, the expression patterns of KIT are Radio highly variable.The aim of this study was to determine if KIT patterns are related with eosinophil count in MCT.Hematoxylin eosin and May Grünwald-Giemsa stain techniques were applied, histological grading and eosinophil counting were performed in 48 MCT samples.Immunohistochemical evaluation was performed with IL-5, VEGFr, and c-KIT antibodies.
The percentage of immunolabeling with IL-5 and VEGFr was determined, and the samples incubated with c-KIT were graded according to the immunolabeling pattern.Comparison of the mean eosinophil count between the histological grades and the different KIT expression Converters patterns demonstrated a significant difference between KIT pattern 1 and KIT pattern 3, KIT pattern 3 showed a higher mean of eosinophil count.There was no significant correlation between eosinophil count and KIT patterns (p = 0.2648).
However, a positive correlation was observed between the KIT patterns and Patnaik and Kiupel grades (p = 0.0006 and p = 0.0267, respectively).There was no significant correlation between eosinophil count, IL-5, or VEGFr.
Further studies should determine whether eosinophil counts are an independent predictor of clinical outcome or simply correlated with already known predictors.