Pathologic and gene expression features of metastatic melanomas to the brain

Year: 2013

Type: article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: The prognosis of metastatic melanomas to the brain (MBM) is variable with prolonged survival in a subset. It is unclear whether MBM differ from extracranial metastases (EcM) and primary melanomas (PrM). METHODS: To study the biology of MBM, histopathologic analysis of tumor blocks from patients' craniotomy samples and whole-genome expression profiling (WGEP) with confirmatory immunohistochemistry were performed. RESULTS: High mononuclear infiltrate and low intratumoral hemorrhage were associated with prolonged overall survival (OS). Pathway analysis of WGEP data from 29 such craniotomy tumor blocks demonstrated that several immune-related BioCarta gene sets were associated with prolonged OS. WGEP analysis of MBM in comparison with same-patient EcM and PrM showed that MBM and EcM were similar, but both differ significantly from PrM. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that peritumoral CD3⁺ and CD8⁺ cells were associated with prolonged OS. CONCLUSIONS: MBMs are more similar to EcM compared with PrM. Immune infiltrate is a favorable prognostic factor for MBM.

Source: Cancer

DOI: 10.1002/cncr.28029

Institutions: University of Pittsburgh, University of South Carolina Upstate, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard University, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Language: English

Topic: Brain Metastases and Treatment

Subfield: Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences

Awards: Antigen processing and HLA-peptide complexes in head and neck cancer, G3100575931, G323827386, Novel Strategies for Brain Tumor Therapy, G5539643167, G741073515, G884570035

OpenAlex ID: W2142020296