Project description:ObjectivesThis study aimed to investigate the impact of socioeconomic status on survival in Chinese patients with acral melanoma.MethodsWe collected clinical and socioeconomic information of 298 primary acral melanoma patients and performed Kaplan-Meier curves, log-rank tests, Cox proportional hazards models, and Pearson's chi-squared tests to evaluate the relationships between clinical characteristics, socioeconomic factors, and survival outcomes.ResultsAmong the clinical characteristics, age, gender, stage, Breslow thickness, and primary tumor site significantly impacted survival in acral melanoma patients (p = 0.01, p = 0.05, p < 0.01, p < 0.01, p < 0.01, respectively). Compared to individual socioeconomic factors such as education, occupation, medical insurance, and marital status, the socioeconomic level derived from these four dimensions accurately predicted patient survival. Patients with higher socioeconomic status demonstrated significantly reduced mortality risk (HR = 0.60, 95% CI = 0.40-0.91, p = 0.02). However, socioeconomic level was not found to be an independent prognostic factor for acral melanoma patients after multivariable adjustment. Notably, a negative correlation was observed between socioeconomic level and Breslow thickness.ConclusionSocioeconomic level is associated with survival in Chinese acral melanoma patients. However, this association may be attributable to Breslow thickness rather than socioeconomic status itself.
Project description:Melanoma predominantly occurs in White individuals, which is associated with factors such as exposure to UV radiation and skin pigmentation. Despite its low incidence, melanoma is the primary cause of skin cancer-related death in Asia, typically in areas with low sun exposure. In our previous whole-exome sequencing study, we identified mutational signature 12 as the most prevalent variant in Asian patients, differing from the common UV-associated mutational signature 7 observed in White individuals. We also observed major differences between acral melanoma (AM) and nonacral melanoma (NAM) in terms of signatures 7, 21, and 22. Notably, few studies have investigated the genomic differences between AM and NAM in Asian individuals. Therefore, in this study, we conducted transcriptomic sequencing to examine the disparities in RNA expression between AM and NAM. Ribosomal RNA depletion was performed to enhance the detection of functionally relevant coding and noncoding transcripts. Ingenuity pathway analysis revealed significant differences in gene expression and regulatory pathways between AM and NAM. The results also indicate that the genes involved in cell cycle signaling or immune modulation and programmed cell death protein 1/programmed cell death 1 ligand 1 signaling were differentially expressed in NAM and AM. In addition, high CDK4 expression and cell cycle variability were observed in AM, with high immunogenicity in NAM. Overall, these findings provide further insights into the pathogenesis of melanoma and serve as a reference for future research on this major malignant disease.
Project description:PurposeAcral melanoma is the major subtype of melanoma seen in Asian patients with melanoma and is featured by its insidious onset and poor prognosis. The genomic study that elucidates driving mutational events is fundamental to the development of gene-targeted therapy. However, research on genomic profiles of acral melanoma in Asian patients is still sparse.Experimental designWe carried out whole-exome sequencing (WES) on 60 acral melanoma lesions (with 55 primary samples involved), targeted deep sequencing in a validation cohort of 48 cases, RNA sequencing in 37 acral melanoma samples (all from the 60 undergoing WES), and FISH in 233 acral melanoma specimens (54 of the 60 undergoing WES included). All the specimens were derived from Asian populations.ResultsBRAF, NRAS, and KIT were discerned as significantly mutated genes (SMG) in acral melanoma. The detected COSMIC signature 3 related to DNA damage repair, along with the high genomic instability score, implied corresponding pathogenesis of acral melanoma. Moreover, the copy number gains of EP300 were associated with the response of acral melanoma to targeted therapy of A485 (a p300 inhibitor) and immune checkpoint blockade treatment. In addition, the temporal order in mutational processes of the samples was reconstructed, and copy-number alterations were identified as early mutational events.ConclusionsOur study provided a detailed view of genomic instability, potential therapeutic targets, and intratumoral heterogeneity of acral melanoma, which might fuel the development of personalized strategies for treating acral melanoma in Asian populations.
Project description:Despite the changing paradigms of melanoma treatment in recent years, there remains a relative paucity of data regarding subungual melanoma in the literature. From 2002-2018, 25 patients with subungual melanoma were surgically treated at our facility. A retrospective chart review was conducted to collect relevant demographic, clinical, pathologic, and outcomes data. The median age at diagnosis was 69 years. Most patients (60%) were male, and the melanoma lesion was most often located on the foot (68%). Acral-lentiginous was the most common histologic subtype (59%), and the median Breslow thickness was 3.4 mm. Fifteen patients (63%) underwent a sentinel lymph node biopsy as part of their surgical resection, and four of these patients (27%) had metastatic disease in the lymph nodes. In total, 10 patients underwent lymph node dissection of the involved basin. The median follow up was 21 months in this patient population. Age, gender, tumor location, ulceration, and lesion histology were not significantly associated with recurrence free survival (RFS). Increasing Breslow thickness was found to be significantly associated with shorter RFS (HR: 1.07, CI: 1.03-1.55). In total, 13 patients developed a disease recurrence, and RFS rates were 66% at 1 year and 40% at 3 years. Additionally, 91 and 37% of patients were alive at one year and three years, respectively. Subungual melanomas are rare lesions that often have a more advanced stage at diagnosis, which contributes to the poor prognosis of these cutaneous malignancies.
Project description:Acral melanoma, the most common melanoma subtype among non-White individuals, is associated with poor prognosis. However, its key molecular drivers remain obscure. Here, we perform integrative genomic and clinical profiling of acral melanomas from 104 patients treated in North America (n = 37) or China (n = 67). We find that recurrent, late-arising focal amplifications of cytoband 22q11.21 are a leading determinant of inferior survival, strongly associated with metastasis, and linked to downregulation of immunomodulatory genes associated with response to immune checkpoint blockade. Unexpectedly, LZTR1 - a known tumor suppressor in other cancers - is a key candidate oncogene in this cytoband. Silencing of LZTR1 in melanoma cell lines causes apoptotic cell death independent of major hotspot mutations or melanoma subtypes. Conversely, overexpression of LZTR1 in normal human melanocytes initiates processes associated with metastasis, including anchorage-independent growth, formation of spheroids, and an increase in MAPK and SRC activities. Our results provide insights into the etiology of acral melanoma and implicate LZTR1 as a key tumor promoter and therapeutic target.
Project description:BackgroundIn the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) classification, acral lentiginous melanoma (ALM) histotype ALM is not included as an independent prognostic factor; in small series its negative prognostic impact on disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) has been linked to the greater Breslow thickness (BT).Patients and methodsThe study was carried out at four referral melanoma centers (three Italian and one Polish). Clinical consecutive patients with stage I-II melanoma, who were diagnosed, treated, and followed up between January 1998 and March 2018 in annotated specific databases were included.ResultsOverall, 6734 were evaluable, 4349 with superficial spreading melanoma (SSM), 2132 with nodular melanoma (NM), and 253 with ALM. At univariable analysis, a statistically significant worse DFS [hazard ratio (HR) 2.72, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.24-3.30; P < 0.001] and OS (HR 2.67, 95% CI 2.15-3.32; P < 0.001) were found in patients with ALM compared with SSM. Similarly, the NM histotype was associated with a worse prognosis compared with the SSM histotype (DFS: HR 2.29, 95% CI 2.08-2.52; P < 0.001 and OS: HR 2.21, 95% CI 1.99-2.46; P < 0.001). At multivariable analysis, after adjusting for age, sex, BT, ulceration, and the sentinel lymph node status, a statistically significant worse DFS [adjusted HR (aHR; ALM versus SSM) 1.25, 95% CI 1.02-1.52; P = 0.028] was confirmed for patients with ALM. For patients with NM, instead, no impact of histology was found in terms of DFS [aHR (NM versus SSM) 1.04, 95% CI 0.93-1.15; P = 0.513] and OS [aHR (NM versus SSM) 0.96, 95% CI 0.86-1.08; P = 0.548].ConclusionsALM is associated with a worse long-term DFS. Our results could have important clinical implications for patients' stratification in future clinical trials and the incorporation of ALM histotype in the new AJCC classification as an independent prognostic factor.
Project description:BackgroundIpilimumab improves overall survival (OS) in advanced melanoma. Acral melanoma is an uncommon clinical subtype of this disease associated with poor prognosis. The clinical activity of ipilimumab has not been well-defined in advanced acral melanoma.MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed the demographics, treatment history, and clinical outcomes for all patients with acral melanoma treated with ipilimumab from two academic centers between February 2006 and June 2013. Using Cox proportional hazards models, we assessed for factors that correlated with OS.ResultsA total of 35 patients with acral melanoma received ipilimumab. Melanomas arose on volar surfaces (n = 28) and subungual sites (n = 7); stage M1c disease was present in 54%, and 45% had elevated serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). Best response by RECIST 1.1 criteria was complete response in 1 patient, partial response in 3, and stable disease (SD) in 4 for an objective response rate (ORR) of 11.4% and a clinical benefit rate (ORR + SD) at 24 weeks of 22.9%. Median progression-free survival was 2.5 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.3-2.7 months); median OS was 16.7 months (95% CI: 10.9-22.5 months). Normal LDH and absolute lymphocyte count ≥1,000 at 7 weeks predicted longer OS. Immune-related adverse events (irAEs) were noted in 16 patients including 7 with grade 3/4 irAEs (20%).ConclusionIpilimumab is clinically active in acral melanoma with similar ORR and OS compared with unselected melanoma populations. Ipilimumab remains a viable therapeutic option for patients with advanced acral melanoma.Implications for practiceIpilimumab is a commonly used immune therapy that improves survival in metastatic melanoma. The clinical activity of ipilimumab in certain rare melanoma subtypes, such as uveal or mucosal melanomas, is suboptimal. Acral melanoma is another unusual subtype of this disease that arises on the palms, soles, and nailbeds. In this study of 35 patients with acral melanoma from 2 centers, ipilimumab was found to have activity that appears equivalent to unselected melanoma (response rate of 11.4%, median overall survival of 16.7 months). Ipilimumab remains a viable treatment option for this melanoma subpopulation.