Figure 3. Increasing frequency of a Plk5 mutation in lymphatic metastasis (LM).

A deletion in Plk5 was identified with increasing frequency in LM. This deletion is not detectable in primary tumor (PT, left panel), becomes visible in tumor extension (TE, middle panel), and dominate in the lymphatic metastasis (LM, right panel). On top of each panel is the pathology image of CCRCC cells. The increasing frequency of this mutation in LM suggests that cancer cells with this Plk5 mutation have advantages in metastasis tissues and majority of metastatic cells carry this mutation. The mutation is a deletion of a proline of the polo-box domain in Plk5.