Shimizu Akira, Kaira Kyoichi, Yasuda Masahito, Asao Takayuki, Ishikawa Osamu
Departments of aDermatology bOncology Clinical Development, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, Gunma, Japan.
Melanoma Res. 2016 Feb;26(1):29-34. doi: 10.1097/CMR.0000000000000208.
Class III β-tubulin (TUBB3) has been recognized as being associated with resistance to taxane-based regimens in several cancers. However, little is known about the clinicopathological significance of TUBB3 expression in patients with cutaneous malignant melanoma. The aim of this study was to examine the prognostic significance of TUBB3 expression in cutaneous malignant melanoma. A total of 106 patients with surgically resected cutaneous malignant melanoma were assessed. Tumour sections were immunohistochemically stained for TUBB3, Ki-67 and microvessel density with CD34. TUBB3 was highly expressed in 80% (85/106) of patients. No statistically significant relationship was observed between the high expression of TUBB3 and any variables. On univariate analysis, ulceration, disease stage, TUBB3 and CD34 revealed a significant relationship with overall survival and progression-free survival. Multivariate analysis confirmed that a low TUBB3 expression was an independent prognostic factor for poor prognosis of cutaneous malignant melanoma. The decreased expression of TUBB3 could be a significant marker for predicting unfavourable prognosis in patients with cutaneous malignant melanoma.
III类β微管蛋白（TUBB3）已被认为与多种癌症中对紫杉烷类方案的耐药性有关。然而，关于TUBB3表达在皮肤恶性黑色素瘤患者中的临床病理意义知之甚少。本研究的目的是探讨TUBB3表达在皮肤恶性黑色素瘤中的预后意义。共评估了106例接受手术切除的皮肤恶性黑色素瘤患者。肿瘤切片进行免疫组织化学染色，检测TUBB3、Ki-67以及用CD34检测微血管密度。80%（85/106）的患者TUBB3高表达。TUBB3的高表达与任何变量之间均未观察到统计学上的显著关系。单因素分析显示，溃疡、疾病分期、TUBB3和CD34与总生存期和无进展生存期显著相关。多因素分析证实，TUBB3低表达是皮肤恶性黑色素瘤预后不良的独立预后因素。TUBB3表达降低可能是预测皮肤恶性黑色素瘤患者预后不良的重要标志物。
