Prognostic value of RT-PCR tyrosinase detection in peripheral blood of melanoma patients Carrillo Delgado, Esmeralda Esperanza Prados Salazar, José Carlos Marchal Corrales, Juan Antonio Boulaiz Tassi, Houria Martínez, Antonio Rodríguez Serrano, Fernando Caba Pérez, Octavio Serrano Ortega, Salvio Aránega Jiménez, Antonia Polymerase chain reaction Circulating tumor cells Messenger RNA Reverse transcriptase Melanoma Cutaneous melanoma Residual disease Clinical stage Reaction assay Marker Malignant melanoma (MM) prognosis has been related to tumour thickness and clinical stage and metastasis risk has been associated with presence of tumour cells in peripheral blood. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between presence of tyrosinase in peripheral blood of MM patients and their clinical prognosis. Blood samples from 58 MM patients (stage I–IV) were analysed, using RT-PCR assay to detect tyrosinase mRNA. The results showed that positive RT-PCR assay for tyrosinase were significantly associated with clinical status and tumour thickness. After a median follow-up of 24 months, RT-PCR results were found to be significant correlated with recurrence (p < 0.05) and clinical stage III (p < 0.05). Separate analysis of stage III tumours to determine the prognostic value of tyrosinase presence in peripheral blood showed an overall 24-month survival rate of 70% in the RT-PCR negative group versus 10% in the positive group (p < 0.02). These results suggest that detection of circulating melanoma cells may be especially relevant in stage III patients, in whom RT-PCR positivity defines a subpopulation at high risk of recurrence. 2014-07-16T09:33:49Z 2014-07-16T09:33:49Z 2006 journal article Carrillo, E.; et al. Prognostic value of RT-PCR tyrosinase detection in peripheral blood of melanoma patients. Disease Markers, 22(3): 175-181 (2006). [http://hdl.handle.net/10481/32689] 0278-0240 http://hdl.handle.net/10481/32689 10.1155/2006/462065 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ open access Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License Hindawi Publishing Corporation; IOS Press