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Query: UMLS:C0025202 (melanoma)
 69,561 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Melanoma cells can secrete several cytokines and express various cell surface molecules, such as the intercellular adhesion molecule ICAM-1, class II histocompatibility antigens, and the CALLA antigen, typically found in cells of the immune system. We have investigated the possible expression of interleukin-2 (IL-2) receptors in melanoma using monoclonal antibodies specific for the p55/alpha chain (TAC antigen) and the p75/beta subunit. Flow cytometric analysis of cultured melanoma cells showed the presence of low levels of the TAC antigen and of the beta chain on the surface of several cell lines. Similar results were obtained in vivo by immunohistochemistry on cryosections prepared from cutaneous and ocular melanoma explants. Positive staining was observed for the alpha chain of the IL-2 receptor in a high percentage of tumour cells. The beta chain could also be detected, although in a limited number of specimens. Analysis of RNA from melanoma cell lines by Northern blot showed the presence of typical 4 Kb transcripts for the p75 subunit, while low-abundance message for the p55 chain could be detected using combined reverse transcription/polymerase chain reaction analysis. Together, these results suggest that melanoma cells may express high affinity receptors for IL-2.
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PMID:Expression of IL-2 receptors in human melanoma cells. 831 84

Between October 1990 und April 1992, 116 patients with primary cutaneous melanoma and 6 with primary ocular malignant melanoma underwent both dermatological and ophthalmological examination, standardized personal and clinical criteria being applied. In addition to the record of the DDG melanoma file, the skin type, eye and skin colour, number of naevi, occurrence of any other cutaneous alterations, and the family history with respect to additional malignant neoplasms were documented. It was found that 18/116 patients with cutaneous melanoma also had naevi of the iris, but none had concomitant ocular melanoma. Notably, 32% of first degree relatives (n = 37) had a malignant neoplasm, as against 12% of the dermatological patients with no oncological conditions who acted as controls. Although the occurrence of additional changes in ocular pigmentation alterations in patients with malignant cutaneous melanoma cannot be regarded as significant on the basis of our prospective study, the eye, as a potential location of metastases or the original site in primary malignant melanoma, should be examined during staging and follow-up examinations, especially as isolated cases of oculo-cutaneous correlation have already been reported.
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PMID:[Incidence of ocular pigment changes in patients with cutaneous melanoma]. 832 Jan 16

A case of primary ocular melanoma of the iris in a 10 year old girl is reported. Primary melanoma of the eye is exceedingly rare in childhood. The incidence and risk factors for ocular melanoma are discussed and possible reasons why this tumour is so uncommon in younger age groups are considered.
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PMID:Ocular melanoma in childhood. 836 86

An experimental model is suggested for reproducing ocular melanoma in New Zealand white rabbits using B16 melanoma cells and protocols differing with respect to either tumour origin (subcutaneous fragments of melanoma B16 or B16-F10 tumour cell cultures) or implant site (the anterior chamber or subchoroidal). In 20 animals, 20 mg of methylprednisolone acetate was injected subconjunctivally as a local immunosuppressant. The only protocol resulting in tumour was inoculation of 4 x 10(6) B16-F10 melanocytes into the anterior chamber of the eye. Trans-scleral injections of cell suspensions produced tumour growth in 43% (13/30) of animals so treated. Thirteen animals developed non-neoplastic pigmented lesions formed of numerous melanophages. Another 19 animals showed non-pigmented lesions caused by reaction to the surgical procedures. Subconjunctivally injected methylprednisolone acetate did not increase the incidence of tumour growth.
Melanoma Res 1993 Jun
PMID:Ocular melanoma: an experimental model in New Zealand white rabbits. 840 Aug 56

The term ocular melanoma refers to a heterogeneous group of cancers of melanocytic origin. The precursor of most cases of conjunctival melanoma is known to ophthalmologists as primary acquired melanosis. This condition passes through well-defined stages of tumor progression. Although tumor progression is not obligatory, as a conjunctival melanocytic lesion acquires new biologic properties it is more likely to progress further. Although junctional nevi are seldom encountered beyond childhood and primary acquired melanosis usually develops in middle-aged individuals, these two conditions may be histologically indistinguishable. Most junctional nevi eventually show evidence of differentiation, whereas nearly half of the cases of primary acquired melanosis with atypia progress to melanoma. Therefore, it is possible that aging may modulate the capability of certain clonal proliferations to differentiate. Uveal melanocytes normally reside in mesenchyme, so that the traditional histologic criterion for establishing the diagnosis of most melanomas--breach of an epithelial basement membrane--does not apply. Because uveal melanomas are not easily accessible to incisional biopsy (without disruption of vision), only two points in the spectrum of tumor progression are defined clinically: nevus and melanoma. Experimental evidence suggests that a spectrum of atypical melanocytic proliferations separates benign nevi from melanomas capable of generating metastases. Unlike conjunctival melanomas that spread first to regional lymph nodes, choroidal and ciliary body melanomas preferentially spread first to the liver and are examples of organ-specific metastases.
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PMID:Tumor progression in ocular melanomas. 844 Sep 16

Cytogenetic analysis was performed on short-term cultures of primary tumor samples from seven patients with posterior uveal melanoma. Informative data were obtained from four patients, all of whom had a near-diploid chromosomal number and clonal chromosomal alterations. Analysis of one patient's tumor revealed monosomy 3 as the only cytogenetically distinguishable aberration. Trisomies of chromosome 8 and i(8)(q10) were detected in two other patients in combination with monosomy of chromosome 3. The fourth patient's karyotype displayed two different translocations. One translocation, der(6)t(6;8)(q12;q13.1), resulted in the over-representation of 8q13.1-->qter and a partial monosomy of 6q12-->qter; the other translocation, der(9)t(6;9)(p12;p23), produced a partial trisomy of 6p12-->pter and a partial monosomy of 9p23-->pter. These results support the view that the recurring pattern of chromosomal rearrangements in ocular melanoma is unique from that associated with cutaneous malignant melanoma. Furthermore, these results help confirm that chromosomes 3, 6, and 8 are nonrandomly altered in ocular melanoma.
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PMID:Cytogenetic analysis of posterior uveal melanoma. 846 75

Following our recent finding that calmodulin antagonists can reduce cancer cell attachment to extracellular matrix proteins, we investigated the calmodulin antagonistic and anti-attachment properties of the non-steroidal anti-oestrogens tamoxifen and droloxifene. These drugs and four of their active metabolites were found to have calmodulin antagonist activity with IC50 values of 2-4 microM and to be capable of inhibiting attachment of murine B16 melanoma to extracellular matrix proteins in vitro. IC50 values for inhibition of attachment were 11 microM for tamoxifen and ranged from 5 to 40 microM for the other five compounds tested. (Poor reproducibility in drug potency between attachment experiments was almost certainly due to the low aqueous solubility of these drugs.) The effects of tamoxifen on cell/matrix adhesion were most evident between 15 min and 3 h of cell attachment. No effects of tamoxifen were evident in cells which had been allowed to attach for 6 h or more. Tamoxifen at concentrations between 0.1 and 30 microM was without effect on intracellular free calcium concentration. Tamoxifen also inhibited attachment of human ocular melanoma cells and human breast cancer (MCF7) cells to type I collagen. The concentration at which tamoxifen and its metabolites affect cell attachment in vitro (2-14 microM) is of the same order as the tissue concentrations of these drugs achieved clinically. The possibility exists that reduction of cell/matrix interactions may contribute to the clinical anti-metastatic efficacy of tamoxifen and some of its active metabolites.
Melanoma Res 1993 Feb
PMID:Inhibition of melanoma cell/matrix interaction by tamoxifen. 847 39

The dysplastic nevus syndrome was conceptualized in the late 1970s, and the subsequent proposal of a genetic relationship with ocular melanoma has stimulated debate in the literature which remains unresolved. We present the case of a 60-year-old man with histologically proven sporadic dysplasic nevus syndrome and a prior history of nine cutaneous melanomas, who developed a large, exophytic melanoma of the cornea and limbal conjunctiva. Cytogenetic analysis of this melanoma revealed a clonal 1;14 translocation. We believe this is the first reported case to use cytogenetic techniques in the analysis of conjunctival melanoma, either associated with dysplastic nevus syndrome or in isolation. We review the clinical literature as well as the cytogenetic and molecular genetic data related to the possible association of cutaneous melanoma, conjunctival and uveal melanoma and the dysplastic nevus syndrome.
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PMID:Conjunctival and uveal melanoma in the dysplastic nevus syndrome. 848 71

The aim of this investigation was to test for the scintigraphic detection of metastases of malignant melanoma with a new radiopharmaceutical, 99Tcm-glutathione (99Tcm-GSH), in comparison with 99Tcm-anti-melanoma antibody (99Tcm-AMAb). Glutathione was labelled with 99Tcm by a Sn2+ reduction method with an efficiency of > 99% as determined by instant thin layer chromatography (ITLC). Anti-melanoma antibody was obtained as a kit from SORIN (Italy) and labelled with 99TcmO-4. Forty-three patients with a total of 55 biopsy-proven metastatic melanoma foci, 1 ocular melanoma and 20 benign pathologic foci, also confirmed by ultrasound, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, were included in the study after giving their informed consent. Following the intravenous (i.v.) injection of 500 MBq 99Tcm-AMAb, scintigraphic images of the involved areas were obtained 6 h post-injection. Three days later, the same patients were given 500 MBq 99Tcm-GSH i.v. and images were obtained 6 and 24 h post-injection. The images were classified as positive (focal abnormal accumulation) or negative. Quantitative evaluation was also applied. Regions of interest were drawn over the involved areas and nearby soft tissues and the target-to-nontarget (T/NT) ratios obtained with 99Tcm-AMAb (T/NT: 1.92 +/- 0.2) and 99Tcm-GSH (T/NT: 1.84 +/- 0.2) were compared (0.1 < P < or = 0.3). The sensitivity (and specificity) of 99Tcm-AMAb and 99Tcm-GSH in the detection of malignant melanoma metastases were 91% (95%) and 84% (90%), respectively. Compared with 99Tcm-AMAb, the advantages of 99Tcm-GSH are lower levels of blood radioactivity, lower costs and easy in-house preparation. In conclusion, our results show that 99Tcm-GSH is a potentially useful radiopharmaceutical for the detection of metastases of malignant melanoma.
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PMID:Clinical evaluation of metastases of malignant melanoma imaging with 99Tcm-glutathione and 99Tcm-anti-melanoma antibody: a comparative study. 858 59

Three groups of tumors were studied. The first group was melanomas inadvertently transmitted from donors. Brain metastases from melanoma were often misdiagnosed in the donors as primary brain tumors or cerebral hemorrhage. Eleven donors provided organs to 20 recipients of whom 3 never manifested evidence of melanoma, 1 showed local spread of tumor beyond the allograft, and 16 had metastases. Of the last group 11 died from melanoma, but 4 patients had complete remissions following transplant nephrectomy and discontinuation of immunosuppressive therapy. The second group was Melanomas treated pretransplantation. Thirty patients had cutaneous melanomas and one an ocular melanoma. Six patients (19%) had recurrences posttransplantation. Three were treated < 2 years pretransplantation, 2 between 2-5 years pretransplantation, and one 120 months pretransplantation. The third group was De novo melanomas. Cutaneous melanomas occurred in 164 patients, melanomas of unknown origin in 8, and ocular melanomas in 5. Melanomas constituted 5.2% of posttransplant skin cancers compared with 2.7% in the general population. Unusual features of cutaneous melanomas were that 6 (4%) occurred in children, and 9 (5%) occurred in bone marrow recipients who were treated for leukemia. Forty-four patients (27%) who had cutaneous melanomas also had other skin cancers. Forty-seven of 68 patients (69%) had thick skin lesions (Clark's level III or greater or > 0.76 mm by Breslow's technique). Lymph node metastases occurred in 32 patients (20%) with cutaneous melanomas. Fifty patients (30%) with cutaneous melanomas died of their malignancies, as did 5 with melanomas of unknown origin, and 1 with ocular melanoma. The risks of melanoma may be reduced by stringent selection of donors; by waiting at least 5 years between treatment of melanoma and undertaking transplantation; and, perhaps, by reducing sunlight exposure and by early excision of suspicious dysplastic lesions.
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PMID:Malignant melanoma in organ allograft recipients. 860 Jun 36


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