title: IMP-3 EXPRESSION IN BENIGN MELANOCYTIC NEVI, DYSPLASTIC NEVI AND MALIGNANT MELANOMA: PRELIMINARY FINDINGS IN BULGARIAN PATIENTS.
abstract: IMP-3 is generally considered as an oncofetal protein, which plays a critical role in regulation of cell proliferation via an IGF-II-dependent pathway in K562 leukemia cells. IMP-3 expression has been detected in malignancies with various origins, while its appearance in adult tissue is generally considered abnormal, with some exceptions. IMP3 is also considered a prognostic biomarker in patients with renal cell carcinoma and clear-cell type ovarian carcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and in patients with poorly differentiated thyroid carcinoma and uterine cervical carcinomas, testicular cancer and malignant melanoma. To our knowledge, no more than 4 PubMed-indexed studies have investigated the expression of IMP-3 in melanocytic lesions, namely its role in the differentiation between benign and malignant neoplasms. We investigated the expression of IMP-3 in a small series of benign melanocytic lesions, dysplastic nevi and melanomas, aiming to establish its significance as a marker for their distinction, comparing the results with those from the literature. IMP- 3 immunostaining was performed in 30 melanocytic lesions: 10 malignant melanomas, 10 dysplastic nevi and 10 benign melanocytic nevi. Our results revealed expression in 20% of dysplastic lesions and 40% of melanoma cases, while none of the benign nevi showed positive expression. These data contradict some of the results from other studies and raise some questions regarding the correlation between IMP- 3 and the degree of dysplasia of melanocytic nevi, as well as its potential relationship with prognostic parameters in melanoma, including tumor thickness and mitotic rate. Our results suggest that IMP-3 expression could be only an auxiliary marker for differentiation between dysplastic nevi and benign nevi, since although it is not expressed in all dysplastic lesions, staining correlates with the degree of dysplasia/atypia. It seems that IMP-3 expression is not a useful discriminator between dysplastic nevi and melanoma nor a good prognostic marker in melanoma.
authors.affiliation: Onkoderma Policlinic for Dermatology, Venereology and Dermatologic Surgery, Sofia, Bulgaria.
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Chokoeva
authors.affiliation: Department of General and Clinical Pathology, Medical Faculty, Trakia University, Stara Zagora, Bulgaria.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ananiev
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology and Allergology, Academic Teaching Hospital Dresden-Friedrichstadt, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Wollina
authors.affiliation: Internal Medicine Unit, Guastalla Hospital, AUSL Reggio Emilia (RE), Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tana
authors.affiliation: University of Rome G.Marconi Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lotti
authors.affiliation: Dermatology Department, University Hospital of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Cardoso
authors.affiliation: Onkoderma Policlinic for Dermatology, Venereology and Dermatologic Surgery, Sofia, Bulgaria.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tchernev
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D002031:Bulgaria; D004416:Dysplastic Nevus Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D020014:K562 Cells; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D009508:Nevus, Pigmented / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D011379:Prognosis; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis*
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C498780:IGF2BP3 protein, human; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins