Genetic determinants of Breslow tumor thickness and their impact on melanoma prog

描述（由申请人提供）：黑色素瘤是一种罕见的，尽管具有潜在的高度侵袭性的黑色素细胞恶性肿瘤。黑色素瘤可以迅速扩散到原发部位以外，如果早期发现和治疗，它们是高度可治愈的。原发肿瘤厚度被认为是黑色素瘤患者最有影响力的预后因素。以前的研究没有报道单核苷酸多态性（SNP）和肿瘤厚度之间的关联或SNP在黑色素瘤进展中的生物学作用。为了确定影响肿瘤厚度的常见遗传变异是否会影响黑色素瘤预后，并阐明疾病进展的分子机制，我们建议进行协调的全基因组SNP分析以及靶向基因表达分析。我们将通过以下目的来检验我们的假设：1）使用全基因组SNP分析来确定黑色素瘤患者中与Breslow肿瘤厚度相关的常见遗传变异; 2）使用具有不同肿瘤厚度类别的患者组织，通过mRNA表达分析和免疫组织化学来检查目标1中鉴定的候选基因的表达模式;和3）基于目标1中鉴定的SNP预测黑素瘤复发和死亡的风险。确定肿瘤厚度的常见遗传决定因素可能会为黑色素瘤的预后提供新的见解。我们的研究结果将对有复发和转移风险的黑色素瘤患者的分期和预后预测产生重大影响，并为开发新的分子靶向治疗提供线索。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Melanoma is a rare, albeit potentially highly aggressive malignant tumor of melanocytes. Melanomas can spread quickly beyond the primary site at which they developed, they are highly curable if discovered and treated early. Primary tumor thickness has been considered to be the most influential prognostic factor in melanoma patients. No previous studies have reported an association between single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs) and tumor thickness or the biological roles of SNPs in melanoma progression. To determine whether common genetic variants that influence tumor thickness affect melanoma prognosis and also elucidate the molecular mechanism of disease progression, we propose to perform a coordinated genome-wide SNP analysis together with targeted gene expression analysis. We will test our hypothesis through the following aims: 1)To determine common genetic variants associated with Breslow tumor thickness among melanoma patients using genome-wide SNP analysis; 2)To examine expression patterns of candidate genes identified in Aim 1 using patient tissues with varying tumor thickness categories, via mRNA expression analysis and immunohistochemistry; and 3)To predict risk of melanoma recurrence and death on the basis of the SNPs identified in Aim 1. Identifying common genetic determinants of tumor thickness may provide new insights into prognosis in melanoma. Our findings will have a significant impact on the staging of melanoma and outcome prediction for melanoma patients who are at risk for relapse and metastasis, and provide clues for the development of new molecular targeted therapies.