Background: Recent studies have shown that several tumours express c-KIT, a growth factor receptor with tyrosine kinase activity; moreover, clinical results have shown the efficacy of the tyrosine kinase inhibitor, STI571, in c-KIT-positive tumours. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence and correlation with chemotherapy resistance of c-KIT expression in advanced serous, low grade of differentiation, ovarian carcinoma.

Patients and methods: We performed an immunohistochemistry analysis of 56 patients with advanced serous ovarian carcinomas using archival paraffin-embedded specimens.

Results: Intense c-KIT immunostaining was observed in 51.7% of cases. c-KIT expression was statistically correlated with progression of disease after first-line chemotherapy (P = 0.029).

Conclusions: c-KIT is also expressed in ovarian carcinoma and it is statistically correlated with chemotherapy resistance. This study suggests the necessity for clinical trials confirming the utility of the tyrosine kinase inhibitor, STI571, in ovarian advanced cancer patients with c-KIT overexpression when these patients have shown no clinical response to conventional chemotherapy.