PURPOSE: The vascular supply of the primary tumor is recognized to play an important role in the progression of a number of solid tumors. However, the role of tumor vascularity in the prognostic assessment of melanoma remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to determine the prognostic impact of patterns of vascularity on the outcome associated with cutaneous melanoma. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Tumor vascularity was documented prospectively using routine histopathologic analysis of 417 primary cutaneous melanomas from the University of California at San Francisco Melanoma Center database. Four patterns of tumor vascularity were recorded: absent, sparse, moderate, and prominent. RESULTS: Increasing tumor vascularity significantly increased the risk of relapse and death associated with melanoma, corresponding to reduced relapse-free and overall survival. By multivariate analysis, tumor vascularity was the most important determinant of overall survival, surpassing tumor thickness. Increasing tumor vascularity was associated with increased incidence of ulceration in the primary tumor. CONCLUSION: Tumor vascularity is an important prognostic factor in melanoma, rivaling tumor thickness. Increasing tumor vascularity is highly correlated with ulceration, possibly helping to explain the biologic basis of this known prognostic factor.
PURPOSE: The vascular supply of the primary tumor is recognized to play an important role in the progression of a number of solid tumors. However, the role of tumor vascularity in the prognostic assessment of melanoma remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to determine the prognostic impact of patterns of vascularity on the outcome associated with cutaneous melanoma. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Tumor vascularity was documented prospectively using routine histopathologic analysis of 417 primary cutaneous melanomas from the University of California at San Francisco Melanoma Center database. Four patterns of tumor vascularity were recorded: absent, sparse, moderate, and prominent. RESULTS: Increasing tumor vascularity significantly increased the risk of relapse and death associated with melanoma, corresponding to reduced relapse-free and overall survival. By multivariate analysis, tumor vascularity was the most important determinant of overall survival, surpassing tumor thickness. Increasing tumor vascularity was associated with increased incidence of ulceration in the primary tumor. CONCLUSION:Tumor vascularity is an important prognostic factor in melanoma, rivaling tumor thickness. Increasing tumor vascularity is highly correlated with ulceration, possibly helping to explain the biologic basis of this known prognostic factor.
Authors: Kriti Mittal; Henry Koon; Paul Elson; Pierre Triozzi; Afshin Dowlati; Helen Chen; Ernest C Borden; Brian I Rini Journal: Cancer Biol Ther Date: 2014-05-19 Impact factor: 4.742
Authors: Mohammed Kashani-Sabet; Suraj Venna; Mehdi Nosrati; Javier Rangel; Antje Sucker; Friederike Egberts; Frederick L Baehner; Jeff Simko; Stanley P L Leong; Chris Haqq; Axel Hauschild; Dirk Schadendorf; James R Miller; Richard W Sagebiel Journal: Clin Cancer Res Date: 2009-11-03 Impact factor: 12.531
Authors: Mitchell E Fane; Brett L Ecker; Amanpreet Kaur; Gloria E Marino; Gretchen M Alicea; Stephen M Douglass; Yash Chhabra; Marie R Webster; Andrea Marshall; Richard Colling; Olivia Espinosa; Nicholas Coupe; Neera Maroo; Leticia Campo; Mark R Middleton; Pippa Corrie; Xiaowei Xu; Giorgos C Karakousis; Ashani T Weeraratna Journal: Clin Cancer Res Date: 2020-11-01 Impact factor: 12.531
Authors: Xiaowei Xu; Phyllis A Gimotty; Dupont Guerry; Giorgos Karakousis; Patricia Van Belle; Haohai Liang; Katharine Montone; Terry Pasha; Michael E Ming; Geza Acs; Michael Feldman; Stephen Barth; Rachel Hammond; Rosalie Elenitsas; Paul J Zhang; David E Elder Journal: Hum Pathol Date: 2008-04-28 Impact factor: 3.466