Premium
Genetic and morphologic features for melanoma classification
Author(s) -
Broekaert Sigrid M. C.,
Roy Ritu,
Okamoto Ichiro,
van den Oord Joost,
Bauer Jürgen,
Garbe Claus,
Barnhill Raymond L.,
Busam Klaus J.,
Cochran Alistair J.,
Cook Martin G.,
Elder David E.,
McCarthy Stanley W.,
Mihm Martin C.,
Schadendorf Dirk,
Scolyer Richard A.,
Spatz Alan,
Bastian Boris C.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
pigment cell and melanoma research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.618
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1755-148X
pISSN - 1755-1471
DOI - 10.1111/j.1755-148x.2010.00778.x
Subject(s) - neuroblastoma ras viral oncogene homolog , melanoma , disease , medicine , mutation , pathology , homogeneous , cancer , biology , cancer research , gene , genetics , physics , colorectal cancer , kras , thermodynamics
Summary Melanoma is comprised of biologically distinct subtypes. The defining clinical, histomorphologic, and molecular features are not fully established. This study sought to validate the association between genetic and histomorphologic features previously described and to determine their reproducibility and association with important clinical variables. Detailed clinical and histomorphologic features of 365 primary cutaneous melanomas were assessed by 11 pathologists and correlated with mutation status of BRAF and NRAS . There was substantial agreement in the quantitative assessment of histomorphologic features showing similar or better interobserver reproducibility than the established World Health Organization classification scheme. We confirmed that melanomas with BRAF mutations showed characteristic morphologic features (P < 0.0001) and metastasized more frequently to regional lymph nodes (P = 0.046). Importantly, melanomas without mutations were a heterogeneous group, with a subset having very similar clinical and morphological features as those with BRAF mutation raising the possibility that they are biologically related. Our study confirms an association between histomorphologic features, mutation status, and pattern of metastasis, providing criteria for a refined melanoma classification aimed at defining biologically homogeneous disease subgroups.