Cancer research
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Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is an aggressive cancer, and most patients present with cancer already spread beyond the lung. The receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) c-MET has been implicated in various solid tumors, including SCLC, and is involved in mediating tumorigenesis, cell motility, scattering, invasion and metastasis. Mutations of c-Met have been described in renal papillary carcinoma and gastrointestinal cancers including hepatocellular carcinoma. ⋯ These results suggest a novel and unique role of the JM domain in c-MET signaling in SCLC with significant implications in cytoskeletal functions and metastatic potential. The novel JM gain-of-function somatic mutations described are the first to be reported in SCLC, and may be associated with a more aggressive phenotype. It would now be useful to study the inhibition of c-MET as a therapeutic target against SCLC.