Alvino E, Passarelli F, Cannavò E, Fortes C, Mastroeni S, Caporali S, Jiricny J, Cappellini GCA, Scoppola A, Marchetti P, Modesti A, D’Atri S. High expression of the mismatch repair protein MSH6 is associated with poor patient survival in melanoma.
Am J Clin Pathol 2014;
142:121-32. [PMID:
24926095 DOI:
10.1309/ajcpcx2d9yulbblg]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES
The outcome of patients with primary melanoma (PM) cannot be completely explained based on currently adopted clinical-histopathologic criteria. In this study, we evaluated the potential prognostic value of mismatch repair protein expression in PMs.
METHODS
We examined the immunohistochemical staining of mismatch repair proteins in 18 benign nevi and 101 stage I to III PMs and investigated their association with tumor clinicopathologic variables and melanoma mortality.
RESULTS
Expression of MSH2, MLH1, and PMS2 was high in benign nevi and reduced in a subset of PMs. Conversely, MSH6 expression was absent or extremely low in benign nevi and increased in a subset of PMs. In the multivariate analysis, including sex, age, Breslow thickness, and ulceration, high MSH6 expression in PMs (ie, immunostaining in >20% of tumor cells) was significantly associated with an increased risk of melanoma mortality (relative risk, 3.76; 95% confidence interval, 1.12-12.70).
CONCLUSIONS
MSH6 protein expression can be a valuable marker to improve prognosis assessment in PMs.
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