With May being Melanoma Awareness month, it is important to highlight the key markers in clinical and research labs that play roles in our understanding of this disease.
The MART-1, Tyrosinase, and pHH3 immunohistochemistry (IHC) assays are used in the diagnosis and characterization of melanoma, a type of skin cancer arising from melanocytes.
Combined Utility in Melanoma:
- Diagnostic Accuracy: The combination of MART-1, Tyrosinase, and pHH3 IHC assays can enhance the diagnostic accuracy of melanoma, especially in challenging cases where morphological evaluation alone may be inconclusive.
- Treatment Planning: The expression levels of these markers may provide valuable information for treatment planning, including targeted therapies and immunotherapies, as well as predicting response to treatment and risk of recurrence.
- Research and Clinical Trials: These markers are also commonly used in research settings and clinical trials to study the biology, progression, and treatment response of melanoma, as well as to identify potential therapeutic targets.
MART-1 + Tyrosinase + pHH3 Antibody
MART-1 recognises a protein of 18 kDa, identified at MART-1 (Melanoma Antigen Recognized by T cells) (1). MART-1 is a useful addition to melanoma panels as it is apparently specific for melanocytic lesions (1,2). Studies have shown that MART-1 is more sensitive than HMB45 when labelling metastatic melanomas (3). This MART-1 cocktail does not stain steroid tumors like Melan A [103] does. Tyrosinase has been shown a more sensitive marker in recognising melanoma when compared to HMB45 and MART-1. It has also been shown to label a higher percentage of desmoplastic melanomas than HMB45 (1). The combination of MART-1 and Tyrosinase aids in identifying metastatic melanoma in sentinel lymph nodes (4).
Microscopic evaluation of mitotic figures on H&E is a routine procedure in the assessment of tumour grades (5). However, the counting of mitosis is manual and time-consuming, with assorted difficulties as well as variabilities between interobserver assessments (6). Histone H3 phosphorylation at Serine10 (pHH3) is in association with mitotic chromatin condensation in late G2 and M phase of the cell cycle. pHH3 can distinguish mitosis from apoptotic nuclei (7). The immunohistochemical staining of Serine10-pHH3 has been reported to be comparable to mitotic figures in the H&E section (8-11). The combination of monoclonal anti-pHH3 with MART-1 and Tyrosinase would offer an advantage of specific epitopes for melanoma diagnosis and mitosis counting.
MSC is delighted to partner with Biocare Medical, who are the market leaders in Multiplex IHC tests, where multiple antibodies are simultaneously applied for staining on a single slide, enhancing confidence levels at pivotal diagnostic junctures.
If your laboratory would like to discuss MART-1 + Tyrosinase + pHH3 in more detail, please reach out to our product specialists below.
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