EHPnet: Environmental Technology Opportunities Portal

Biomarkers are important tools in clinical diagnosis and prognostic classiWcation of various cutaneous malignancies. Besides clinical and histopathological aspects (e.g. anatomic site and type of the primary tumour, tumour size and invasion depth, ulceration, vascular invasion), an increasing variety of molecular markers have been identiWed, providing the possibility of a more detailed diagnostic and prognostic subgrouping of tumour entities, up to even changing existing classiWcation systems. Recently published gene expression or proteomic proWling data relate to new marker molecules involved in skin cancer pathogenesis, which may, after validation by suitable studies, represent future prognostic or predictive biomarkers in cutaneous malignancies. We, here, give an overview on currently known serologic and newer immunohistochemical biomarker molecules in the most common cutaneous malignancies, malignant melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma and cutaneous lymphoma, particularly emphasizing their prognostic and predictive signiWcance.