Dermatopathological indicators of poor melanoma prognosis are significantly inversely correlated with the expression of NM23 protein in primary cutaneous melanoma.
BACKGROUND
Some dermatopathological parameters are recognized as dominant indicators of high metastatic potential in melanoma, especially Breslow thickness, ulceration, Clark's level of invasion and mitotic rate. Because NM23 protein is the product of a melanoma metastasis suppressor gene, the aim of this study was to compare such dermatopathological indicators of melanoma prognosis with NM23 protein expression in primary cutaneous melanoma.


METHODS
The immunohistochemical NM23 expression was semiquantitatively assessed in 30 primary cutaneous melanomas. Ten dermatopathological parameters were evaluated and compared with NM23 expression.


RESULTS
A significant inverse correlation was found for NM23 expression in comparison with Breslow thickness (p < 0.01), ulceration (p < 0.05), Clark's level (p < 0.01), mitotic rate (p < 0.05), and vertical growth phase (p < 0.05). By contrast, no significant correlation was found for NM23 expression in comparison with cell morphology, presence of adjacent nevus, pigmentation, tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, and regression was impossible to evaluate.


CONCLUSIONS
The expression of NM23 protein in primary cutaneous melanoma is significantly inversely correlated with dermatopathological parameters currently recognized as powerful indicators of melanoma prognosis. NM23 may be therefore considered in the dermatopathological evaluation of primary cutaneous melanoma.
Ferrari
Donata
D
Section of Dermatology, Department of Surgical Sciences, Parma University, Parma, Italy. donata_ferrari@libero.it
Lombardi
Mara
M
Ricci
Roberto
R
Michiara
Maria
M
Santini
Marcello
M
De Panfilis
Giuseppe
G
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D008938:Mitosis; D054778:NM23 Nucleoside Diphosphate Kinases; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D009701:Nucleoside-Diphosphate Kinase / Q000378:metabolism*; D011379:Prognosis; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D054778:NM23 Nucleoside Diphosphate Kinases; C517938:NME1 protein, human; D009701:Nucleoside-Diphosphate Kinase