C-KIT mutation role in oral malignant melanoma pathway: A narrative review

Abstract

Aim: To investigate the role of the c-KIT mutation in oral malignant melanoma (OMM). Materials and Methods: The search strategy includes randomized control trials and clinical trials from the databases of PubMed Central, Cochrane, EBSCO, and MEDLINE from January 1999 to May 2019. A total of seven clinical trials that met all inclusion criteria were included in this systematic review. Results: A previous study found that c-KIT can initiate the activation variety of downstream pathways, including the MAPK/MEK and PI3K/AKT pathways, which play important roles in cancer development. The c-KIT mutation has resulted in a loss of heterozygosity at 12p13, and loss of p27KIP1 protein has been detected. Activating c-KIT mutations in the juxtamembrane and other domains has been considered as an oncogene and also a therapeutic target in various tumors. Conclusion: c-KIT is playing the role of an important target in the research of molecular therapy in patients with metastatic OMM with c-KIT mutations.