Detection of circulating neoplastic cells by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction in malignant melanoma: association with clinical stage and prognosis

PURPOSECirculating melanoma cells can be detected in peripheral blood by means of tyrosinase mRNA amplification by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). We conducted a prospective study to evaluate the clinical significance of the presence of circulating neoplastic cells in the blood of patients with malignant melanoma (MM).METHODSA sensitive RT-PCR assay was used to detect tyrosinase mRNA in the peripheral blood of patients with stages I to IV melanoma. Healthy subjects or patients with other malignancies were used as negative controls.RESULTSNinety-one assessable patients were included in the study. There was a statistically significant association between RT-PCR positivity and clinical stage. Circulating melanoma cells were detected in 36% of patients with localized disease (stages I and II), in 45% of patients with regional nodal involvement (stage III), and in 94% of patients with metastatic disease (stage IV) (P < .001). In stage II-III patients who were RT-PCR-positive for mRNA ...