Messina JL et al. - The relationship between activated Stat-3 and biological behavior of melanocytic lesions was observed in this study and warrants further exploration. Methods
Study to investigate the role of Src-Stat pathway in melanoma
Expression of phosphorylated Stat-3 (pStat-3), activated Stat-1 (pStat-1) and interferon alpha receptor subunit 1(IFNAR-1) in human melanocytic neoplasms was examined by IHC
Compound nevi (6), dysplastic nevi (4), congenital nevi (2), primary melanoma (14), and sentinel lymph node metastasis (40) were examined
Staining score from 1-3 was based on the percentage of tumor cells staining and the intensity of stained cells
Results
Normal melanocytes or benign nevi expressed little pStat-1, pStat-3, or IFNAR-1
In primary cutaneous melanoma, 6/14 skin biopsies showed activated Stat-3
In melanoma metastatic to regional lymph nodes, 16/26 had activated Stat-3 but only 6/23 had activated Stat-1
Melanoma tumors had high levels of either pStat-3 or pStat-1 but not both
All melanoma specimens but not benign melanocytes had cytoplasmic IFNAR-1 staining
An increase in Stat-3 activity was seen in melanoma but not in benign nevi or skin melanocytes
There appeared to be an inverse correlation between the levels of pStat-3 and pStat-1 in a given specimen
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