Dermatologic Clinic, Department of Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, La Sapienza University of Rome.
Faculty of Medicine, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome.
Melanoma Res. 2019 Dec;29(6):621-625. doi: 10.1097/CMR.0000000000000561.
Current evidences suggest that mast cells contribute to the proliferation and differentiation of skin melanocytes. According to these findings, we carried out an observational cross-sectional study to investigate the correlation between the total number of nevi (TN), Breslow thickness (BT), and serum tryptase (ST) levels in a cohort of 35 melanoma (MM) patients. A Mann-Whitney test was performed to compare ST values within each variable. Subsequently, the independent predictive factors were assessed by multiple logistic regression. Pearson's χ-test was chosen to detect statistically significant findings on the TN and the histopatological variables (Breslow, ulceration, and mitotic index). The TN was assessed using a dichotomous scale (≤ 10 or > 10). Patients with TN of 10 or less (3.48 vs. 6.05 ng/ml; P = 0.045), patients with a Breslow thickness of at least 1.01 mm (2.99 vs. 5.67 ng/ml; P = 0.1), and ulcerated MM (2.37 vs. 6.05 ng/ml; P < 0.001) showed lower median ST levels. Similarly, MM with mitotic index of at least 1/mm had median ST levels lower than MM with mitotic index less than 1/mm (P = 0.005). Multiple logistic regression confirmed the statistical significance for the variables ulceration, TN, and mitotic index. Pearson's χ-test showed a statistically significantly (P = 0.003) increased prevalence of MMs with a BT of at least 1.01 mm in patients with a TN of 10 or less. Patients with a TN of 10 or less also showed a higher prevalence of ulceration and mitotic index of at least 1/mm in comparison with the rest of the cohort. Our study highlights lower median ST levels in patients whose MM thickness is at least 1.01 mm; this may encourage new studies on the role of ST in MM also according to the number of nevi.
目前的证据表明，肥大细胞有助于皮肤黑素细胞的增殖和分化。基于这些发现，我们对 35 名黑色素瘤（MM）患者进行了一项观察性横断面研究，以调查黑素细胞痣总数（TN）、Breslow 厚度（BT）和血清胰蛋白酶（ST）水平之间的相关性。采用 Mann-Whitney 检验比较了每个变量内的 ST 值。随后，通过多因素逻辑回归评估了独立的预测因素。选择 Pearson χ检验来检测 TN 和组织病理学变量（Breslow、溃疡和有丝分裂指数）之间的统计学显著发现。TN 使用二分法进行评估（≤10 或>10）。TN 为 10 或更少的患者（3.48 vs. 6.05ng/ml；P=0.045）、Breslow 厚度至少为 1.01mm 的患者（2.99 vs. 5.67ng/ml；P=0.1）和溃疡性 MM（2.37 vs. 6.05ng/ml；P<0.001）的 ST 水平较低。同样，有丝分裂指数至少为 1/mm 的 MM 的 ST 水平低于有丝分裂指数小于 1/mm 的 MM（P=0.005）。多因素逻辑回归证实了溃疡、TN 和有丝分裂指数变量的统计学意义。Pearson χ检验显示，TN 为 10 或更少的患者中，BT 至少为 1.01mm 的 MM 的发生率显著增加（P=0.003）。与其余队列相比，TN 为 10 或更少的患者中，溃疡和有丝分裂指数至少为 1/mm 的发生率也更高。我们的研究强调了 MM 厚度至少为 1.01mm 的患者的中位 ST 水平较低，这可能会鼓励根据黑素细胞痣的数量开展关于 ST 在 MM 中作用的新研究。
