PURPOSE To determine the expression of the chemokine receptors CXCR4 and CCR7 on human uveal melanoma cells and their metastases and the effect of liver-borne factors on the chemotactic responses of uveal melanoma cells. METHODS Four human uveal melanoma cell lines and three cell lines of uveal melanoma metastases were examined by RT-PCR and flow cytometry for their constitutive expression of...

PURPOSE To explore the expression and function of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression on human uveal melanoma cells. METHODS Five human uveal melanoma cell lines were examined by flow cytometry for the expression of EGFR. The correlation between EGFR expression and metastasis of uveal melanoma cells was tested in a nude mouse model of intraocular melanoma. The effect of EGFR on...

PURPOSE Mutations in the genes that control cell proliferation in cutaneous melanoma are generally uncommon in uveal melanoma. Despite the absence of known activating mutations, the RAF-MEK-ERK, or mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), pathway is usually activated in uveal melanoma. An assay with increased potential to identify mutations is now available, and this study was therefore conduct...

PURPOSE Uveal melanoma is a rare melanoma variant with no effective therapies once metastases develop. Although durable cancer regression can be achieved in metastatic cutaneous melanoma with immunotherapies that augment naturally existing antitumor T-cell responses, the role of these treatments for metastatic uveal melanoma remains unclear. We sought to define the relative immunogenicity of th...

Growing evidences indicated that Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) played important roles in tumor initiation and progression. However, the function and mechnism of lncRNA ferritin heavy chain 1 pseudogene 3 (FTH1P3) remain unknown in uveal melanoma. We showed that the expression level of FTH1P3 was upregulated in uveal melanoma cell lines and tissues. Elevated expression of FTH1P3 promoted uveal m...

OBJECTIVE To study the clinical profile of young patients with uveal melanoma. DESIGN Retrospective case-control series. SETTING Tertiary referral center. PATIENTS Data on 63 patients aged 20 years or younger with uveal melanoma were reviewed for clinical profile and association with oculo(dermal) melanocytosis, familial uveal melanoma, dysplastic nevus syndrome, cutaneous melanoma, and o...

PURPOSE Somatic mutations in codon 209 of the GNAQ gene are the first initiating events to be identified in uveal melanoma. The purpose of this study was to search for GNAQ209 mutations in conjunctival melanocytic lesions. METHODS Forty archival samples of conjunctival melanocytic lesions (conjunctival nevi, primary acquired melanosis, and conjunctival melanoma), 27 samples of uveal melanoma,...

BACKGROUND Uveal melanoma is the most common primary intraocular tumor in adults in western countries. It is associated with very severe visual morbidity and may lead to distant metastases even after successful treatment of the primary tumor. In order to gain better insight into molecular mechanisms related to tumorigenesis and metastasis of uveal melanoma, we used next-generation sequencing te...

IMPORTANCE Conventional melanoma serum biomarkers (S100 and lactate dehydrogenase [LDH]) perform poorly in patients with uveal melanoma, and the search for new biomarkers is needed. A high expression of the oncoprotein c-Met in primary uveal melanoma is associated with metastatic progression, and c-Met is released as a soluble ectodomain through ADAM10- and ADAM17-mediated cleavage, suggesting ...

BACKGROUND A clinical association has been observed between uveal melanoma and neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). This study aims to determine whether the NF1 tumor suppressor gene is mutated in uveal melanoma. METHODS Thirty-eight uveal melanomas, as well as normal uveal melanocytes, were examined for NF1 deletions by dual-color fluorescence in situ hybridization, and for expression of the NF1 ...