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Korean Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (생화학분자생물학회)
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Detection of Circulating Melanoma Cells by a Two-marker Polymerase Chain Reaction Assay in Relation to Therapy

  • Bitisik, Ozlem (Istanbul University, Oncology Institute, Department of Basic Oncology) ;
  • Camlica, Hakan (Istanbul University, Oncology Institute, Department of Preventive Oncology) ;
  • Duranyildiz, Derya (Istanbul University, Oncology Institute, Department of Basic Oncology) ;
  • Tas, Faruk (Istanbul University, Oncology Institute, Department of Clinical Oncology) ;
  • Kurul, Sidika (Istanbul University, Oncology Institute, Department of Preventive Oncology) ;
  • Dalay, Nejat (Istanbul University, Oncology Institute, Department of Basic Oncology)
  • Published : 2003.03.31
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Abstract

Malignant melanoma is one of the most rapidly increasing cancer types, and patients with metastatic disease have a very poor prognosis. Detection of metastatic melanoma cells in circulation may aid the clinician in assessing tumor progression, metastatic potential, and response to therapy. Tyrosinase is a key enzyme in melanine biosynthesis. The gene is actively expressed in melanocytes and melanoma cells. Melan A is a differentiation antigen that is expressed in melanocytes. The presence of these molecules in blood is considered a marker for circulating melanoma cells. In this study, we analyzed the usefulness of this marker combination I evaluating the response to therapy in the blood of 30 patients with malignant melanoma. Circulating cells were detected by a reverse-transcriptase-polymerase-chain reaction. The tyrosinase expression was observed in 9 (30%) patients and Melan A in 19 (63.3%) patients before therapy. Following treatment, the tyrosinase mRNA was detected in only one patient, while Melan A transcripts were still present in 14 patients. We suggest that this molecular assay can identify circulating melanoma cells that express melanoma-associated antigens and may provide an early indication of therapy effectiveness.

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References

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