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Prognostic significance of nestin in patients with malignant melanoma

A Japanese study examined the prognostic significance of the hair-follicle stem-cell marker nestin in malignant melanoma (MM). Tissue samples were taken from 78 MM patients of median age 56.6 years. Nestin was detected in 56.5% of MM samples. The 5-year survival rate was significantly decreased in stage I and II nestin-positive cases versus nestin-negative cases (P < 0.05). In stage I tumors, survival was 66.7% in nestin-positive patients and 100% in nestin-negative cases; in stage II tumors the corresponding values were 78.3 and 100%, respectively (P < 0.05 for both stage I and II). Nestin expression may thus be a useful prognostic marker of survival for MM patients (Tanabe, K. et ...