KDR: IHC Expression in Cancer and Radioligand Target Profile
KDR, kinase insert domain receptor, is a cell-surface protein (membrane receptor). In Human Protein Atlas immunohistochemistry, KDR staining is highest in skin cancer (50% of samples positive), cervical cancer (42% of samples positive) and head and neck cancer (25% of samples positive). Published literature suggests KDR does not readily internalize, so radionuclide retention may rely on surface binding. Clinical status: FDA-approved drug (any modality).
Is KDR the right target for your program? Rank it against 15,000 targets on dosimetry, internalization and clinical risk.
Analyze KDR freeIs KDR a good radioligand therapy target?
Scored against the six criteria that decide whether a protein can become a radioligand therapy:
- ✅ Cell-surface accessibility: Localized to the cell surface, so a radioligand can reach it from circulation.
- ⚠️ Tumor expression: Medium IHC staining in skin cancer, 50% of samples positive.
- ❌ Internalization: Reported not to internalize.
- ✅ Clinical precedent: FDA-approved drug (any modality)
- ❔ Shedding: Not yet assessed.
- ❔ Normal-tissue dosimetry: Check kidney, liver, bone marrow and salivary expression in the Human Protein Atlas tissue atlas.
KDR IHC staining by cancer type
Protein expression of KDR across 20 cancer types from Human Protein Atlas immunohistochemistry. The score is a weighted staining intensity from 0 to 1; "% positive" is the share of patient samples with detectable staining.
| Cancer type | IHC score | Level | % positive |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skin Cancer | 0.39 | Medium | 50% |
| Cervical Cancer | 0.25 | Medium | 42% |
| Head and Neck Cancer | 0.25 | Medium | 25% |
| Bladder Cancer | 0.11 | Low | 25% |
| Melanoma | 0.08 | Low | 25% |
| Prostate Cancer | 0.08 | Low | 17% |
Not detected by IHC in: colorectal cancer, ovarian cancer, lymphoma, breast cancer, kidney cancer, thyroid cancer, neuroendocrine tumors, lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, gastric cancer, testicular cancer, endometrial cancer, glioma, liver cancer.
Is KDR internalized?
No. The abstract discusses the role of EphA receptors in relation to KDR but does not provide any explicit evidence regarding the internalization of KDR itself.
Sources: PMID 41047040 · PMID 35027734 · PMID 31868584 · PMID 29719170 · PMID 29502220. AI-extracted from abstracts, so verify before citing.
KDR clinical trials
FDA-approved drug (any modality). Nuclens hasn't indexed trials for KDR yet. Search ClinicalTrials.gov for KDR trials.
KDR normal tissue expression
Normal-tissue expression in dose-limiting organs (kidney, liver, bone marrow, salivary glands) drives radioligand dosimetry risk. Nuclens is re-validating its normal-tissue values, so they are not shown here yet. See KDR in the Human Protein Atlas tissue atlas, and read how normal-tissue expression predicts radioligand dosimetry risk.
KDR gene essentiality (DepMap)
CRISPR knockout effect across 1251 cancer cell lines: -0.11 (not essential). Radioligands kill by radiation, not by blocking the target, so essentiality matters less than for inhibitors. A non-essential target can still be an excellent radioligand target.
Related skin cancer radioligand targets
EGFR · c-MET (MET) · HER3 (ERBB3) · SSTR2 · B7-H3 (CD276) · HER2 (ERBB2) · ITGAV · ITGB6
See all radioligand therapy targets in skin cancer.
See how KDR ranks against 15,000 targets for your indication.
Analyze KDR freeData sources
Subcellular localization: UniProt via Open Targets (CC BY 4.0 / CC0). Tumor immunohistochemistry: Human Protein Atlas (CC BY-SA 4.0). Clinical trials: ClinicalTrials.gov (public domain). Gene essentiality: DepMap (CC BY 4.0). Internalization and shedding: AI-extracted from PubMed abstracts, so verify against the cited papers before relying on them. Nuclens is a first-pass triage layer, not a substitute for wet-lab validation or clinical dosimetry. Derived expression data on this page is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.