KIT and cancer: Similar findings, indicating that c-kit is involved in the growth and maintenance of the normal epithelium and the c-kit function may be lost following malignant transformation (Natali et al, 1992a; Matsuda et al, 1993), have also been demonstrated in melanoma (Natali et al, 1992b) and thyroid (Natali et al, 1995) and renal (Miliaras et al, 2004) cancers.