Abstract
Purpose: :
Gene expression profiling on uveal melanomas has demonstrated underexpression of an enzyme called autotaxin, which may predict class 2 uveal melanomas and thus poor prognosis. There is limited experience with immunoperoxidase staining of autotaxin on this tumor. This study examined its possible predictive value using cytologic preparations with comparison to monosomy 3 and 8q24myc amplicfication by FISH. Cytology was used as increasingly some patients are treated without enucleation and cytologic material may be acquired at the time of plaque radiotherapy application.
Methods: :
Immunohistochemical staining for autotaxin was performed on touch smears fixed with either alcohol or formalin on 21 cases of partially thawed frozen uveal melanoma (group A). An additional 5 cases were studied using fresh tumoral tissue (group B). The ChromoMap Red kit with UltraMap anti-Rb Alk Phos (Ventana) was used for detection. The results were correlated with FISH results and survival.
Conclusions: :
1. Autotaxin is underexpressed in some uveal melanomas, and immunoperoxidase staining for autotaxin may offer an economical way to stratify patients. 2. Additional work is needed to define optimal technical aspects and interpretation, as experience is still limited.
Keywords: melanoma • pathology techniques • pathology: human