Background: Given the correlation between KIT mutations and immunohistochemical expression of CKIT in acral melanoma, our aim was to confirm the utility of CKIT detection as a screening tool for KIT genotyping in atypical acral nevi and to ascertain the frequency of KIT mutations in the same.
Design: Immunohistochemical staining for CKIT was performed and staining criteria were the following: negative = <10%, 1 = 11%-49%, and 2 = >50% of cells. Intensity grading was as follows: negative = 0, weak = 1, moderate = 2, and strong = 3. Genomic amplification was performed on KIT exons commonly mutated in acral melanomas (11, 13, and 17) from atypical acral nevi (23) ranging in severity from mild (9), moderate (10), and severe (4). The control group included acral nevi without atypia (19). For purposes of statistical analyses, cases with 11% or more staining of cells were compared with negative cases and cases with a staining intensity of 1 or higher were compared with the negatives.
Results: Immunohistochemical analyses revealed the following: positive staining with an intensity 1 or more in 18 of 22 (82%) of cases with atypia (5 mild; 9 moderate and 4 severe) and in 13 of 17 (76%) nevi without atypia with no statistically significant differences between both groups. Genomic analyses of exon regions revealed no abnormalities in "hotspots" frequently associated with point mutations in acral melanomas.
Conclusions: Our findings indicate a lack of correlation between immunohistochemical expression of CKIT and KIT mutations in atypical acral nevi. Atypical acral nevi do not exhibit genetic alterations in KIT associated with acral melanomas.