Premium
Expression of polo‐like kinase (PLK1) in thin melanomas: a novel marker of metastatic disease
Author(s) -
Kneisel Lucas,
Strebhardt Klaus,
Bernd August,
Wolter Manfred,
Binder Angelika,
Kaufmann Roland
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of cutaneous pathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.597
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1600-0560
pISSN - 0303-6987
DOI - 10.1034/j.1600-0560.2002.290605.x
Subject(s) - melanoma , medicine , breslow thickness , immunohistochemistry , pathology , anatomical pathology , oncology , cancer , cancer research , breast cancer , sentinel lymph node
Background: The maximum thickness of a primary malignant melanoma as measured by Breslow's method is currently the most important prognostic factor. However, some thin melanomas (≤ 0.75 mm), which should have an excellent prognosis according to Breslow, can be lethal due to their ability to metastasize. Methods: In our study, thin malignant melanomas (≤ 0.75 mm) from 36 patients were analyzed with immunohistochemical techniques using monoclonal antibodies directed against PLK1 and Ki‐67. The immunoreactivity of 22 melanomas which developed metastases within 5 years of follow‐up was compared with a group of 14 non‐metastasized melanomas. Two independent investigators evaluated stained sections. Differences of PLK1 and Ki‐67 indices between melanomas with and without metastases were tested statistically using the Mann–Whitney U ‐test. Results: Malignant melanomas with metastases expressed PLK1 at markedly elevated levels compared to melanomas without metastases (median, 60.00% vs. 37.98%; p = 0.000053). The difference of the Ki‐67 index between both groups was not significant (median, 6.35% vs. 4.53%; p = 0.150473). Conclusions: Our results suggest that PLK1 expression in thin melanomas is a reliable marker to identify patients at high risk for metastases.