Increased Expression of DDX39 in Uveal Melanoma Is Associated With Patient Prognosis

Background/Aim: Uveal melanoma is one of the most common primary intraocular tumors. It arises from melanocytes in the uvea and accounts for 3-5% of all melanomas. Uveal melanoma has a high metastatic potential. About half of the patients develop distant metastases including the liver, and the median survival time has been reported to be 4-5 months. Although the primary treatment for uveal melanoma has evolved from enucleation to eye-saving local treatment, there is no impact on the occurrence of distant metastases or overall survival. At least 50% of patients will develop metastases and the 3-year survival rate drops rapidly to 13%. Therefore, it is important to find prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic molecular targets that improve survival in patients with uveal melanoma. DDX39 is an Asp-Glu-Ala-Asp (DEAD) box RNA helicase required for mRNA transcription, splicing, and transport. There have been several reports of DDX39 over-expression in tumor tissues and cells, and we reported that patients with adrenocortical carcinoma with high DDX39 expression had a significantly worse prognosis. The clinicopathological involvement of DDX39 in uveal melanoma has not yet been documented.

Materials and Methods: We analyzed DDX39 mRNA expression and survival in patients with uveal melanoma using the GEPIA2 and UALCAN platforms.

Results: DDX39 was found to be up-regulated in uveal melanoma tissues with increasing stage, and this up-regulated expression was inversely correlated with prolonged patient survival.

Conclusion: DDX39 may be one of the potential prognostic biomarkers for patients with uveal melanoma.