PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - INKA TRESKOVA
AU  - ONDREJ TOPOLCAN
AU  - JINDRA WINDRICHOVA
AU  - VACLAV SIMANEK
AU  - DAVID SLOUKA
AU  - VLADISLAV TRESKA
AU  - RADEK KUCERA
TI  - OPG, OPN, EGF and VEGF Levels at Individual Breslow Score Stages in Malignant Melanoma
AID  - 10.21873/anticanres.12806
DP  - 2018 Aug 01
TA  - Anticancer Research
PG  - 4907--4911
VI  - 38
IP  - 8
4099  - http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/38/8/4907.short
4100  - http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/38/8/4907.full
SO  - Anticancer Res2018 Aug 01; 38
AB  - Background/Aim: Melanoma represents one of the most aggressive forms of cancer. With the rapid increases in the incidence of melanoma in the United States, Australia and Europe over the last decades, melanoma has been considered an epidemic cancer in these areas. The aim of our study was to evaluate the utility of osteoprotegerin (OPG), osteopontin (OPN), epidermal growth factor (EGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor VEGF for the diagnosis and prognosis of melanoma. Patients and Methods: Overall, 322 individuals were assessed: 183 melanoma patients and 139 healthy individuals. Melanoma patients were divided into four subgroups according to the Breslow score. OPN, OPG, EGF, and VEGF were determined in each plasma sample. Results: The serum levels of the following biomarkers were statistically significantly higher in the melanoma group compared to the control group: OPG and, OPN (p<0.0001), EGF (p=0.0379). In the first stage, OPG (p=0.0236) and OPN (p=0.0327) showed a statistically significant increase. Concerning positive and negative sentinel node metastases a statistically significant change was observed in: OPN (p<0.0001), EGF (p=0.0114), VEGF (p=0.0114). Conclusion: OPG and OPN are promising biomarkers of early-stage melanoma. EGF and VEGF appear to be prognostic biomarkers.