title: Assessing the clinical utility of measuring Insulin-like Growth Factor Binding Proteins in tissues and sera of melanoma patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Different Insulin-like Growth Factor Binding Proteins (IGFBPs) have been investigated as potential biomarkers in several types of tumors. In this study, we examined both IGFBP-3 and -4 levels in tissues and sera of melanoma patients representing different stages of melanoma progression.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study cohort consisted of 132 melanoma patients (primary, n = 72; metastatic, n = 60; 64 Male, 68 Female; Median Age = 56) prospectively enrolled in the New York University School of Medicine Interdisciplinary Melanoma Cooperative Group (NYU IMCG) between August 2002 and December 2006. We assessed tumor-expression and circulating sera levels of IGFBP-3 and -4 using immunohistochemistry and ELISA assays. Correlations with clinicopathologic parameters were examined using Wilcoxon rank-sum tests and Spearman-rank correlation coefficients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Median IGFBP-4 tumor expression was significantly greater in primary versus metastatic patients (70% versus 10%, p = 0.01) A trend for greater median IGFBP-3 sera concentration was observed in metastatic versus primary patients (4.9 microg/ml vs. 3.4 microg/ml, respectively, p = 0.09). However, sera levels fell within a normal range for IGFBP-3. Neither IGFBP-3 nor -4 correlated with survival in this subset of patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Decreased IGFBP-4 tumor expression might be a step in the progression from primary to metastatic melanoma. Our data lend support to a recently-described novel tumor suppressor role of secreting IGFBPs in melanoma. However, data do not support the clinical utility of measuring levels of IGFBP-3 and -4 in sera of melanoma patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA. yuj05@nyumc.org
authors.forename: Jessie Z
authors.initials: JZ
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Melanie A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Warycha
authors.forename: Paul J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Christos
authors.forename: Farbod
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Darvishian
authors.forename: Herman
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yee
authors.forename: Hideko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kaminio
authors.forename: Russell S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Berman
authors.forename: Richard L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Shapiro
authors.forename: Michael T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Buckley
authors.forename: Leonard F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Liebes
authors.forename: Anna C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Pavlick
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Polsky
authors.forename: Peter C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Brooks
authors.forename: Iman
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Osman
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D018450:Disease Progression; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D018972:Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 3 / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D018974:Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 4 / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D018972:Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 3; D018974:Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 4