Probably, the most important factor for the survival of a melanoma patient is early detection and precise diagnosis. Although in most cases these tasks are readily carried out by pathologists and dermatologists, there are still difficult cases in which no consensus among experts is achieved. To deal with such cases, new methodologies are required.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe aimed to characterise cutaneous melanoma in the elderly and determine its association with poorer prognosis. We studied a prospective cohort of the melanoma population in Catalonia between 2012 and 2016. We compared young patient group (<75 years old) with elderly patient group (≥75 years old).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCell migration is crucial for cancer dissemination. We find that AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) controls cell migration by acting as an adhesion sensing molecular hub. In 3-dimensional matrices, fast-migrating amoeboid cancer cells exert low adhesion/low traction linked to low ATP/AMP, leading to AMPK activation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMetastasis involves dissemination of cancer cells away from a primary tumour and colonization at distal sites. During this process, the mechanical properties of the nucleus must be tuned since they pose a challenge to the negotiation of physical constraints imposed by the microenvironment and tissue structure. We discovered increased expression of the inner nuclear membrane protein LAP1 in metastatic melanoma cells, at the invasive front of human primary melanoma tumours and in metastases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCutaneous melanoma is the most aggressive of skin tumors. In order to discover new biomarkers that could help us improve prognostic prediction in melanoma patients, we have searched for germline DNA variants associated with melanoma progression. Thus, after exome sequencing of a set of melanoma patients and healthy control individuals, we identified rs1042602, an SNP within , as a good candidate.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Cutaneous melanoma shows high variability regarding clinicopathological presentation, evolution and prognosis.
Methods: Next generation sequencing was performed to analyze hotspot mutations in different areas of primary melanomas (MMp) and their paired metastases. Clinicopathological features were evaluated depending on the degree of variation of the mutant allele frequency (MAF) in MMp.
BRAF/V600E mutation and other cell growth/growth-control mechanisms are involved in naevogenesis and melanomagenesis. Immunoexpression of BRAF/V600E and other molecules (p16, phosphatase and tensin homologue (PTEN), Ki67, hTERT and Cav3.1 and 3.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe incidence of melanoma has been increasing worldwide during recent decades. The objective of the study was to analyse the trends in incidence for in situ and invasive melanoma in the Spanish region of Catalonia during the period of 2008-2017. We designed a cross-sectional study with an age-period-cohort analysis of melanoma patient data from the Network of Melanoma Centres in Catalonia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMelanoma is a highly aggressive tumour that can metastasize very early in disease progression. Notably, melanoma can disseminate using amoeboid invasive strategies. We show here that high Myosin II activity, high levels of ki-67 and high tumour-initiating abilities are characteristic of invasive amoeboid melanoma cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFReal-world data on BRAF mutation frequency in advanced melanoma are lacking in Spain. Moreover, data available on clinicopathological profile of patients with advanced BRAF-mutant melanoma are currently limited. This study aimed to assess the frequency of BRAF V600 mutations in Spanish patients with advanced or metastatic melanoma and to identify clinical and histopathological features associated with BRAF-mutated tumors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFT-type calcium channels (TTCCs) are overexpressed in several cancers. In this review, we summarize the recent advances and new insights into TTCC biology, tumor progression, and prognosis biomarker and therapeutic potential in the melanoma field. We describe a novel correlation between the Cav3.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMelanoma is a malignant neoplasia that is highly resistant to chemotherapy and radiotherapy and is associated with poor prognosis in advanced stage. Targeting melanoma that harbors the common BRAF mutation with kinase inhibitors, such as vemurafenib, reduces tumor burden, but these tumors frequently acquire resistance to these drugs. We previously proposed that T-type calcium channel (TTCC) expression may serve as a biomarker for melanoma progression and prognosis, and we showed that TTCC blockers reduce migration and invasion rates because of autophagy blockade only in BRAF-mutant melanoma cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCell migration is a key procedure involved in many biological processes including embryological development, tissue formation, immune defense or inflammation, and cancer progression. How physical, chemical, and molecular aspects can affect cell motility is a challenge to understand migratory cells behavior. assays are excellent approaches to extrapolate to situations and study live cells behavior.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFROCK-Myosin II drives fast rounded-amoeboid migration in cancer cells during metastatic dissemination. Analysis of human melanoma biopsies revealed that amoeboid melanoma cells with high Myosin II activity are predominant in the invasive fronts of primary tumors in proximity to CD206CD163 tumor-associated macrophages and vessels. Proteomic analysis shows that ROCK-Myosin II activity in amoeboid cancer cells controls an immunomodulatory secretome, enabling the recruitment of monocytes and their differentiation into tumor-promoting macrophages.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Recent epidemiological studies suggest that past data where superficial spreading melanoma was by far the most common subtype of melanoma may not reflect current patterns of sun exposure or other risk factors more involved in other subtypes of melanoma as lentigo maligna (LM) or lentigo maligna melanoma (LMM).
Methods: In order to measure the current situation in our country, all cases of LM and LMM diagnosed in 23 hospitals in Catalonia, from 2000 to 2007, were recorded.
Results: Although for the global period LM/LMM represented only 8.
The incidence of lentigo maligna (LM), in situ (LM) or invasive (lentigo maligna melanoma, LMM), has increased during the last decades. Due to functional or cosmetic outcomes, optimal treatment with surgical excision may not be appropriate in some cases. We tried less invasive therapy, immunocryosurgery, as a single treatment for LM or combined with surgery for LMM, with better aesthetic results.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type (ENKTL) is an aggressive lymphoma with a very low incidence in western populations.
Objective: To review the clinicopathological features and outcome of a multicentre series of ENKTL in Spain.
Materials & Methods: A multicentre retrospective study was performed based on cases of ENKTL, collected from 1995 to 2004, from 12 dermatology departments included in the Spanish Lymphoma Study Group.
Melanoma is a malignant tumor derived from melanocytes. Once disseminated, it is usually highly resistant to chemotherapy and is associated with poor prognosis. We have recently reported that T-type calcium channels (TTCCs) are overexpressed in melanoma cells and play an important role in melanoma progression.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study aims to assess ligament lesions and subluxations of the carpometacarpal (CMC) joint of the thumbs and the role that these ligament ruptures play in the pathophysiology of osteoarthritis (OA). Twenty-five fresh-frozen cadaver hands were dissected. There were 14 female and 11 male with mean age 65 years (51-92 years old).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHeat shock proteins (HSPs), are molecular chaperones that assist the proper folding of nascent proteins. This study aims to evaluate the antitumour effects of the hsp90 inhibitor NVP-AUY922 in melanoma, both in vitro and in vivo. Our results show that NVP-AUY922 inhibits melanoma cell growth in vitro, with down regulation of multiple signalling pathways involved in melanoma progression such as NF-ĸB and MAPK/ERK.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLocoregional cutaneous metastases of melanoma (LCMM) represent a therapeutic challenge. Many treatment options are available with varying results. The combination of cryotherapy and imiquimod, two treatments with a possible synergistic effect, has not yet been described for treating this disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe worldwide incidence of malignant melanoma is increasing. The number of pigmented naevi and amount of solar exposure are important risk factors. The aim of this study was to characterize a paediatric population (from Lleida, Catalonia, Spain) in terms of phenotype, sun behaviour and naevi prevalence.
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