Abstract
Purpose::
Uveal melanomas typically metastasize to the liver. A sensitive and specific serological marker for metastatic disease would be of great value. The small globular protein "melanoma inhibitory activity" (MIA) is established as a marker for cutaneous melanoma. This study was performed to evaluate MIA as potential serological marker for early detection of metastatic disease in uveal melanoma.
Methods::
In a prospective study we collected serum samples of 390 patients with uveal melanoma. Serum samples were analysed by using a one-step enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to quantify the MIA serum levels. All patients underwent also standardized A-scan echography to measure the maximum tumor height.
Results::
31 (7.9 %) patients had proven metastatic disease. The mean serum concentration of MIA in these patients was 17.22 ng/ml, whereas in the 359 patients without metastasis, 6.74 ng/ml (p < 0.001). Sixteen of the 31 patients presented with metastatic disease during follow-up. These patients showed a MIA of 6.49 ng/ml before and of 17.44 ng/ml after the development of metastasis (p = 0.001). Comparing different apical tumor thickness to MIA serum concentrations in patients without metastasis, no significant correlation was found. A correlation between local therapy and MIA serum concentrations could neither be seen.
Conclusions::
The statistically highly significant elevation of MIA serum levels in patients with metastatic disease from melanoma suggests a promising role as a serum marker for monitoring these patients.
Keywords: melanoma • oncology • tumors