[The distribution of various type of oncogenes products in the tumor tissue of malignant mesothelioma].

The distribution of various oncogenes in the tumor tissues of 8 cases of malignant mesothelioma related to asbestos exposure was evaluated by monoclonal antibodies against oncogenes. There was no staining for K-ras, H-ras and erb-B in all cases and C-abl slightly stained in only one case of a biphasic type of tumor. On the other hand, C-myc positively stained in epithelioid type and the epitheloidal portion of the biphasic type of tumors. C-neu, C-fos and N-myc positively stained in almost all cases. Of these 9 oncogenes, C-neu was most frequently stained in all cases. These results suggest that C-myc, N-myc, C-neu and C-fos oncogenes may have some role in the appearance of malignant mesothelioma related to asbestos exposure.