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Lymphatic and blood vasculature in primary cutaneous melanomas of the scalp and neck
Author(s) -
Pasquali Sandro,
Montesco Maria Cristina,
Ginanneschi Chiara,
Baroni Gianna,
Miracco Clelia,
Urso Carmelo,
Mele Fabio,
Lombardi Anna Rita,
Quaglino Pietro,
Cattaneo Laura,
Staibano Stefania,
Botti Gerardo,
Visca Paolo,
Zani Marina,
Soda Giuseppe,
Corti Barbara,
Pilloni Luca,
Anselmi Luca,
Lissia Amelia,
Vannucchi Margherita,
Manieli Cristina,
Massi Daniela
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
head and neck
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.012
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1097-0347
pISSN - 1043-3074
DOI - 10.1002/hed.23801
Subject(s) - scalp , immunohistochemistry , lymphovascular invasion , lymphatic system , medicine , pathology , lymphatic vessel , pathological , blood vessel , anatomy , metastasis , cancer
Background Scalp/neck melanomas have a poor prognosis, possibly because of a rich vascular supply that prompts tumor cells' dissemination. Methods We compared the accuracy of immunohistochemical (IHC) staining with morphology for the identification of lymphovascular invasion in 156 scalp/neck melanomas. We then analyzed the association of vessel invasion and density with pathological features and survival. Results IHC‐detected lymphatic vessel invasion (LVI) and blood vessel invasion (BVI) were identified in 34.6% and 13.5% of cases, respectively. IHC increased the LVI/BVI detection compared to morphology (40.4% vs 16.6%; p < .001). The degree of peritumoral and intratumoral blood vessel density (BVD) was greater than lymphatic vessel density (LVD). Ulceration was the only factor independently associated with intratumoral ( p = .029) and peritumoral ( p = .047) BVD. Tumor thickness was the only independent predictor of survival ( p = .002). Conclusion IHC allows accurate assessment of lymphovascular invasion in scalp/neck melanomas. In these tumors, we observed a high incidence of BVI, which deserves further investigations. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 37: 1596–1602, 2015