title: Tyrosinase expression in the peripheral blood of stage III melanoma patients is associated with a poor prognosis: a clinical follow-up study of 110 patients.
abstract: The aim of this study is to define the relationship between the tyrosinase expression in the peripheral blood and the clinical course of the disease in stage III disease-free melanoma patients after radical lymph node dissection. RT-PCR techniques were used to identify tyrosinase mRNA in 110 patients; a total of 542 blood samples were investigated. In all, 54 patients (49%) showed at least one positive result; 13 patients (11.8%) showed baseline positive results: six became negative thereafter, whereas seven showed follow-up positive results until disease progression occurred. One or more positive determinations were found during follow-up in 41 patients with negative baseline tyrosinase. No correlation was found between baseline results and the relapse rate or disease-free survival (DFS), whereas a significant correlation was found between positive tyrosinase results and disease recurrence during follow-up. In fact, 72.9% of positive patients relapsed, but only 19.3% of negative cases did so. The median interval between the positive results and the clinical demonstration of the relapse was 1.9 months (range 1-6.6). Disease-free survival multivariate analysis selected, as independent variables, Breslow thickness (P=0.05), lymph node involvement according to the AJCC classification (P=0.05) and tyrosinase expression (P=0.0001). In conclusion, RT-PCR tyrosinase mRNA expression is a reliable and reproducible marker associated with a high risk of melanoma progression and we encourage its clinical use in routine follow-up.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Sciences and Human Oncology, Section of Clinics and Oncological Dermatology, University of Turin, v. Cherasco 23, 10126 Torino, Italy.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Osella-Abate
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Savoia
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Quaglino
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Fierro
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Leporati
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ortoncelli
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Bernengo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis*; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D008197:Lymph Node Excision; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D008875:Middle Aged; D014442:Monophenol Monooxygenase / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D011379:Prognosis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000096:biosynthesis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D014442:Monophenol Monooxygenase