SFK expression, as measured by immunoblotting with an antibody specifically recognizing Src, Fyn, and Yes, were elevated in 25 of 52 breast tumors. c-Src kinase and STAT3 activated hepatocyte growth factor expression in breast carcinoma cells [7, 8]. Enhanced c-Src activity is also one potential mechanism leading to tamoxifen-resistant growth in breast cancer, and activation of c-Src and Fak has a close relationship with distant recurrence in hormone-treated, ER-positive breast cancer [9]. In recent studies, elevated c-Src activity was directly involved

in the disruption of cell-cell adhesions in tamoxifen-resistant breast cancer cell lines, indicating that activated c-Src plays a role in the mislocalization of adhesion proteins [10]. Therefore, c-Src and c-Yes play important roles in colon cancer and breast cancer. However, a very small this website number of studies have been conducted on SFK expression in skin cancer, and there is some controversy as to whether c-Src or c-Yes affects melanoma. By measuring tyrosine-specific Selleckchem QVDOph kinase activity for c-Src expression in human melanoma tissues kinase activity in melanoma was found to be greater than that in normal skin regardless of the type of melanoma or the metastatic

site [11]. In one study, Src kinase inhibitor dasatinib inhibited melanoma cell migration and invasion by inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis [12]. STAT3, which has been shown to play an important role in tumor cell proliferation and survival,

and c-Src tyrosine kinase are activated in melanoma cell lines. Melanoma cells undergo apoptosis when either Src kinase activity or STAT3 signaling is inhibited [13]. This supports the fact that Src activated STAT3 signaling has a key role in the survival and growth of melanoma tumor cells. c-Src activation also affects epidermal growth factor of STAT in head and neck SCCs and promotes the invasion and progression of SCC [14–16]. On the contrary, it has been reported that c-Yes expression and kinase activity in human melanoma cell lines are greater than that in normal melanocyte cell lines, and that c-Src expression and activity are not DMXAA different in human melanoma cell lines compared to normal melanocyte cell lines [17]. Similarly, it was demonstrated in another study that c-Yes tyrosine kinase why was activated more in human brain-metastatic melanoma cell lines by stimulation of neurotropin and nerve growth factor, whereas c-Src was not affected [18]. These results show that c-Yes is more important than c-Src in melanoma progression and metastasis. Therefore, we studied the expression of both c-Src and c-Yes in overall human skin cancer tissues including MM, SCC, and BCC using western blotting and immunochemistry. Our study results show that c-Src was expressed in all skin cancer tissues, but not in normal skin tissues. c-Yes was expressed in MM and SCC, but not in normal skin tissues or BCC.