title: Immunohistochemical study of pepsinogen C expression in cutaneous malignant melanoma: association with clinicopathological parameters.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim of this study was to evaluate the pepsinogen C expression in malignant cutaneous melanomas and analyze its possible relationship to clinical and pathological parameters. Pepsinogen C is an aspartyl proteinase primarily involved in the digestion of proteins in the stomach and represents one of the main androgen-inducible proteins in breast cancer cells.
  
  
  METHODS
  Tumoral pepsinogen C expression was retrospectively analyzed in 35 paraffin-embedded tissues from patients with primary malignant cutaneous melanoma and in 10 samples from 10 benign lesions (4 dermal melanocytic nevi, 4 compound melanocytic nevi and 2 dysplastic melanocytic nevi), using immunohistochemical methods.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The benign lesions were consistently negative for pepsinogen C, whereas 20 of the 35 malignant melanomas (57%) showed positive immunostaining for pepsinogen C. The percentage of pepsinogen C-positive tumors was significantly higher in men than in women (p=0.01) and in epithelioid melanomas than in fusocellular or mixed type melanomas (p=0.003). In addition, the percentage of pepsinogen-C positive tumors was positively and significantly correlated with lesion thickness (p=0.003), Clark's level of invasion (p=0.028) and tumor stage (p<0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pepsinogen C could be a new prognosticator of unfavorable outcome in cutaneous malignant melanoma.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Hospital de Jove, Gijón, Asturias.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Quintela
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vizoso
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Serra
authors.forename: L O
authors.initials: LO
authors.lastname: González
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fernandez
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Merino
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Baltasar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000728:Androgens / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D020115:Pepsinogen C / Q000032:analysis*; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D000728:Androgens; D020115:Pepsinogen C