Department of Dermatovenerology, Sestre milosrdnice University Hospital, Zagreb, Croatia.
J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2011 Oct;25(10):1174-81. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-3083.2010.03943.x. Epub 2010 Dec 22.
Galectin-3, one of the β-galactoside-binding lectins, has been suggested as a marker of disease progression in melanoma patients because of its overexpression observed in recent studies. However, prognostic value of galectin-3 in primary cutaneous melanoma (PCM) has not been clearly defined.
The aim of the study was to analyse whether the intensity of galectin-3 expression can predict survival in patients with PMC.
Galectin-3 expression was evaluated using immunohistochemistry in 104 PCM samples, including 71 (68.2%) superficial spreading (SSM) and 33 (31.8%) nodular melanomas (NM).
Significant difference of galectin-3 expression between SSM and NM was determined (P < 0.001). Increased galectin-3 expression was positively correlated with tumour thickness (P < 0.001), Clark (P < 0.001) and Breslow (P < 0.001) stage, mitotic rate (P < 0.001), presence of tumour ulceration (P < 0.001), lymphatic invasion (P = 0.018), positive sentinel lymph node (P < 0.022) and distant metastases (P < 0.001). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed an association between increased galectin-3 expression and reduced recurrence-free survival (RFS) (P = 0.001) and reduced disease-specific survival (DSS) (P = 0.015). In Cox proportional hazards regression analysis, significant predictors of reduced RFS were positive sentinel lymph node (P = 0.025) and lymphovascular invasion (P = 0.021), whereas predictors of DSS were tumour thickness (P = 0.012), lymphovascular invasion (P = 0.047), Clark stage (P = 0.029) and location of tumour on upper extremities (P = 0.024).
Our results support the potential role of galectin-3 in PCM development, progression and metastasis. Moreover, galectin-3 could serve as an additional prognostic marker that might help in further stratifying the risk of disease progression and metastasis in patients with PMC.
半乳糖凝集素-3 是一种β-半乳糖苷结合凝集素，由于其在最近的研究中观察到的过表达，被认为是黑色素瘤患者疾病进展的标志物。然而，半乳糖凝集素-3 在原发性皮肤黑素瘤（PCM）中的预后价值尚未明确。
本研究旨在分析半乳糖凝集素-3 表达强度是否可以预测 PCM 患者的生存情况。
采用免疫组织化学法检测 104 例 PCM 样本中的半乳糖凝集素-3 表达，包括 71 例（68.2%）浅表扩散型（SSM）和 33 例（31.8%）结节型黑素瘤（NM）。
确定了 SSM 和 NM 之间半乳糖凝集素-3 表达的显著差异（P < 0.001）。半乳糖凝集素-3 表达增加与肿瘤厚度（P < 0.001）、Clark 分级（P < 0.001）、Breslow 分级（P < 0.001）、有丝分裂率（P < 0.001）、肿瘤溃疡（P < 0.001）、淋巴血管浸润（P = 0.018）、前哨淋巴结阳性（P < 0.022）和远处转移（P < 0.001）呈正相关。Kaplan-Meier 分析显示，半乳糖凝集素-3 表达增加与无复发生存率（RFS）（P = 0.001）和疾病特异性生存率（DSS）（P = 0.015）降低相关。在 Cox 比例风险回归分析中，RFS 降低的显著预测因子为前哨淋巴结阳性（P = 0.025）和淋巴血管浸润（P = 0.021），而 DSS 的预测因子为肿瘤厚度（P = 0.012）、淋巴血管浸润（P = 0.047）、Clark 分级（P = 0.029）和肿瘤位于上肢（P = 0.024）。
我们的结果支持半乳糖凝集素-3 在 PCM 发展、进展和转移中的潜在作用。此外，半乳糖凝集素-3 可作为额外的预后标志物，有助于进一步分层 PCM 患者疾病进展和转移的风险。
