TITLE:
Nuclear Odontogenic Ameloblast-Associated Protein (ODAM) Correlates with Melanoma Sentinel Lymph Node Metastasis
AUTHORS:
Sagar S. Gandhi, Daniel P. Kestler, Charles T. Bruker, James M. McLaughlin, Robert E. Heidel, Sabina Siddiqui, James S. Foster, Keith D. Gray, John Bell, Alan Solomon, James Lewis
KEYWORDS:
Melanoma; Sentinel Lymph Node Metastases; ODAM; Immunohistochemistry
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Cancer Therapy,
Vol.4 No.8,
September
18,
2013
ABSTRACT: We have examined primary tumor
sections from melanoma patients by immunohistochmistry (IHC) for the presence
of the odontogenic ameloblast-associated protein (ODAM). Within these patient
tissues we have observed a correlation of nuclear ODAM staining in the primary
tumors with sentinel lymph node (SLN) metastasis. Surgically, SLN invasion in
melanoma is considered an important indicator of more aggressive, invasive
melanoma and to date there are limited biomarkers which strongly correlate with
metastatic disease. The observation that ODAM staining in melanoma associates
with SLN invasion may have important prognostic implications which could assist
in the management of melanoma. Notably, ODAM expression may correlate with
pathway-signaling we have previously reported to be affected by ectopic ODAM
expression in cultured melanoma and breast cancer cell lines.