title: A clinicopathological analysis of primary mucosal malignant melanoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Primary mucosal malignant melanoma (PMMM) is a rare and highly lethal neoplasm associated with a poor prognosis. CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) is expressed on various tumor cells, including malignant melanoma. Recent data indicate that CXCL12 and CXCR4 play a critical role in the behavior of cancer cells and in the survival of cancer patients. However, there has been no study that has addressed the expression and function of CXCR4/CXCL12 signaling in PMMM.
  
  
  METHODS
  Immunohistochemical staining for CXCL12 and Ki67 in biopsy tissues from 10 cases of PMMM was performed. We analyzed the correlations between the clinicopathological features and expression levels of CXCL12 and Ki67.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Six cases showed a high level of CXCL12 expression, while four cases had a low level of expression. High expression of CXCL12 correlated with a poor prognosis, although statistical significance was not reached (p = 0.054). Ki67 was highly expressed in five cases, while the expression in the other five cases was low. There was no correlation between the Ki67 expression and prognosis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings of this study suggest that CXCL12 expression may play an important role in the biological behavior of PMMM and may be associated with a poor prognosis of PMMM patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, 1-1-1 Honjo, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto, 860-8556, Japan.
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Izumi
authors.forename: Takatsugu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ishimoto
authors.forename: Naoya
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: Kenichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Keisuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kosumi
authors.forename: Ryuma
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tokunaga
authors.forename: Hidetaka
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sugihara
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sawayama
authors.forename: Ryuichi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Karashima
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Imamura
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ida
authors.forename: Yukiharu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hiyoshi
authors.forename: Shiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Iwagami
authors.forename: Yoshifumi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Baba
authors.forename: Yasuo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sakamoto
authors.forename: Yuji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Miyamoto
authors.forename: Masayuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Hideo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Baba
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D054377:Chemokine CXCL12 / Q000378:metabolism*; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D004947:Esophagus / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009092:Mucous Membrane; D011379:Prognosis; D019718:Receptors, CXCR4 / Q000378:metabolism; D012004:Rectal Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D012007:Rectum / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C515255:CXCL12 protein, human; C527276:CXCR4 protein, human; D054377:Chemokine CXCL12; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen; D019718:Receptors, CXCR4