REVIEW   Free access

Giornale Italiano di Dermatologia e Venereologia 2019 December;154(6):650-68

DOI: 10.23736/S0392-0488.17.05818-7

Copyright © 2017 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Mast cells and cancer

Giovanni PAOLINO ¹, Paola CORSETTI ¹, Elisa MOLITERNI ¹, Serena CORSETTI ² ✉, Dario DIDONA ³, Marcello ALBANESI ⁴, Carlo MATTOZZI ¹, Paolo LIDO ⁵, Stefano CALVIERI ¹

¹ Clinic of Dermatology, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy; ² Department of Medical Oncology, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico di Aviano (CRO) IRCCS, San Vito al Tagliamento, Pordenone, Italy; ³ First Division of Dermatology, Istituto Dermopatico dell’Immacolata IRCCS, Rome, Italy; ⁴ Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation, School of Allergology and Clinical Immunology, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy; ⁵ Internal Medicine Residency Program, Tor Vergata University, Rome, Italy

Mast cells (MCs) are a potent proangiogenic factor in tumors, they product several pro-angiogenic factors such as fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2), vascular epithelial growth factor (VEGF), tryptase and chymase. Tryptase is a serine protease classified as α-tryptase and β-tryptase, both produced by MCs. Tryptase degrades the tissues, playing an important role in angiogenesis and in the development of metastases. Serum tryptase increases with age, with increased damage to cells and risk of developing a malignancy and it could be considered the expression of a fundamental role of MCs in tumor growth or, on the contrary, in the antitumor response. Many biomarkers have been developed in clinical practice for improving diagnosis and prognosis of some neoplasms. Elevated tryptase levels are found in subgroups of patients with haematologic and solid cancers. In the current review, we want to update the perspectives of tryptase as a potential biomarker in daily practice in different neoplasms.

KEY WORDS: Mast cells; Tryptases; Neoplasms