Premium
HSP‐27 protein expression in uveal melanoma: correlation with predicted survival
Author(s) -
Jmor Fidan,
Kalirai Helen,
Taktak Azzam,
Damato Bertil,
Coupland Sarah E.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
acta ophthalmologica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.534
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1755-3768
pISSN - 1755-375X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1755-3768.2010.02038.x
Subject(s) - monosomy , heat shock protein , pathology , immunohistochemistry , melanoma , staining , survival analysis , biology , medicine , aneuploidy , oncology , microbiology and biotechnology , cancer research , chromosome , karyotype , gene , genetics
. Purpose: Almost 40% of uveal melanomas (UM) are fatal, because of metastatic disease that usually involves the liver. Partial or complete deletion of chromosome 3 (i.e., monosomy 3) is a strong predictor of metastatic mortality; however, genetic analysis is not always possible. The aim of this study was to determine whether heat shock protein 27 (HSP‐27) protein expression could reliably predict prognosis. Methods: Immunohistochemical analysis of HSP‐27 protein expression was performed on formalin‐fixed, paraffin‐embedded sections from 99 UM of known chromosome 3 status, as determined by multiplex ligation‐dependent probe amplification. Slides were evaluated blind by three independent observers. The percentage of tumour cells staining for HSP‐27 was categorized as: 0 (<1%); 1 (1–24%); 2 (25–49%); 3 (50–74%) or 4 (>74%). The staining intensity was categorized as: 0 (no staining); 1 (weak); 2 (moderate) and 3 (strong). These two categories were multiplied together to obtain the HSP‐27 expression score. All data were processed in spss for statistical analyses. Results: Heat shock protein 27 score was lower in monosomy 3 melanomas than in disomy 3 tumours (p < 0.001; Mann–Whitney U‐ test). An ‘accelerated failure time model’ was used to generate predicted survival for all patients included in the study. Kaplan–Meier analysis indicated a significantly decreased predicted 8‐year survival rate for patients with an HSP‐27 Score ≤6 (p = 0.03; Log rank test). Predicting monosomy 3 was enhanced by considering the HSP‐27 score together with basal tumour diameter, melanoma cytomorphology and mitotic rate. Conclusions: Low HSP‐27 expression correlates with monosomy 3 in UM and with increased predicted mortality. When assessed together with other clinical and pathological variables, the HSP‐27 score enhances estimation of survival probability.