500 The prognosis prediction of cutaneous melanoma patients using quantitative real-time PCR from sentinel lymph node

Abstract

Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy is currently a valuable and reliable diagnostic procedure for precise staging of malignant melanoma (MM) patients. We assessed whether the genetic testing in SLNs from MM patients can be an independent prognostic factor. A retrospective study analysis was conducted for 35 patients (ratio of men to women, 17:18) who underwent SLN biopsy and primary cutaneous melanoma excision in our institution from January 2013 to June 2018. The median patient age was 71 years (range, 13-83 years). The number of patients classified by clinical subtype were 7 chronic sun-induced damage (CSD), 23 non-CSD and 5 acral. According to the 8thAJCC staging classification, 11 patients (31%) had stage I, 9 patients (26%) had stage II, 1 patient (3%) had stage IIIA, 2 patients (6%) had stage IIIB, and 9 patients (26%) had stage IIIC. Fifteen patients (43%) were histopathological positive in the SLNs. Twelve patients (34%) underwent following extensive lymph nodes dissection. Eleven patients (31%) had tumor thickness more than 4.0mm. Median follow-up time was 36 months (range, 1-74 months). We analyzed mRNA gene expression in the SLNs using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). The gp100, MART1, and tyrosinase mRNA gene expression level of ddCt measurement value showed correlation with unfavorable prognosis in OS rate.