Project description:Background: Timely diagnosis is important for successful treatment of cutaneous melanoma. Currently, Breslow tumor thickness and mitotic rate are used for malignant melanoma classification and prognosis, but these parameters can assess disease progression risk only to a certain degree. Therefore, there is a need for new melanoma protein biomarkers that would aid early and accurate diagnosis and prediction of their metastatic potential. Methodology and Findings: This retrospective case control study is based on proteomic profiling of formalin-fixed archival tissues of 31 early-stage head and neck cutaneous malignant melanoma samples using liquid chromatography / mass spectrometry. A melanoma proteomic profile was identified and protein expression levels were compared to the proteome profile of melanocytic naevi and correlated to established prognostic factors and disease-specific survival. In accordance with the American Joint Committee on Cancer guidelines, recursive partitioning multivariate analysis was used to identify potential biomarkers associated with metastatic potential of early-melanoma. Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein M and heat shock protein 90 alpha were profiled as independent prognostic factors. Their elevated expression was clinically relevant for predicting an exceedingly high metastatic hazard ratio. These proteins were superior in estimating disease progression risk when compared to Breslow thickness and mitotic rate. Conclusions and Significance: Identification of biomarkers in early stage cutaneous head and neck melanoma is an important step towards predicting metastatic potential and prognosis of the disease. Clinical confirmation and further validation of the proteins identified in this study would provide a novel tool for identifying patients at risk for developing metastatic disease.
Project description:In this experiment, FFPE samples of 41 primary cutaneous melanoma, 2 metastatic melanoma and 6 normal skin were used for DNA extraction and genotyping by Affymetrix OncoScan FFPE Assay, in order to define chromosomal alterations in copy number and loss of heterozygosity. Genomic damage was then correlated with clinical features of melanoma.
Project description:To explore the effects of metformin on the proliferation and ferroptosis of skin cutaneous melanoma (SKCM) and its potential molecular mechanisms, providing a new theoretical basis and strategy for the treatment of cutaneous melanoma. RNA-seq sequencing and related analyses were used to screen differentially expressed genes and explore their involved biological functions and signaling pathways. RNA-seq analysis found 2068 differentially expressed genes, of which 897 were up-regulated and 1171 were down-regulated. The related pathways such as iron metabolism disorders and ferroptosis were activated.