A melanoma immune response signature including Human Leukocyte Antigen-E.

Paired cultures of early-passage melanoma cells and melanocytes were established from metastatic lesions and the uninvolved skin of five patients. In this stringent autologous setting, cDNA profiling was used to analyze a subset of 1477 genes selected by the Gene Ontology term 'immune response'. Human Leukocyte Antigen E (HLA-E) was ranked 19th among melanoma-overexpressed genes and was embedded in a transformation signature including its preferred peptide ligand donors HLA-A, HLA-B, HLA-C, and HLA-G.

Melanoma molecular classes and prognosis in the postgenomic era.

Gene expression profiling is a powerful method to classify human tumours on the basis of biological aggressiveness, response to therapy, and outcome for the patient, but its application in melanoma lags behind that of other cancers. From more than 100 articles available on the topic, we selected 14 focusing on patients' outcome. We review and briefly discuss salient findings, and list ten reasons why melanoma molecular classes are not yet used in clinical diagnosis and prognosis.

Efficacy and tolerability of 5-aminolevulinic acid 0.5% liposomal spray and intense pulsed light in wrinkle reduction of photodamaged skin.

Background: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) with 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) is effective for the treatment of photoaging.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of PDT using a novel 0.5% liposome-encapsulated 5-ALA spray and an intense pulsed light (IPL) system (Ellipse Flex PPT) in reduction of periorbital and nasolabial wrinkles.

Prognostic factors influencing tumor response, locoregional control and survival, in melanoma patients with multiple limb in-transit metastases treated with TNFalpha-based isolated limb perfusion.

Background: In isolated limb perfusion (ILP) with tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFalpha) and interferon (IFN)-gamma, pioneered by Lienard and Lejenne in 1988, TNFalpha was empirically employed at a dosage (3-4 mg) ten times higher than the systemic maximum tolerable dose (MTD). We previously conducted a phase I/II study in 20 patients with in-transit melanoma metastases, using a combination of melphalan and TNFalpha at dosages ranging from 0.5 to 3.