Defining the role of CD2 in disease progression and overall survival among patients with completely resected stage-II to -III cutaneous melanoma.

BACKGROUND: Accurate assessment of prognosis remains clinically challenging in stage II to III cutaneous melanoma. Studies have implicated CD2 in immune surveillance, T-cell activation, and antitumor immunity, but its role in melanoma progression warrants further investigation. OBJECTIVE: We sought to investigate the prognostic role of CD2 in primary cutaneous melanoma. METHODS: Patients with American Joint Committee on Cancer stage II and III cutaneous melanoma were identified by retrospective review of dermatopathology databases from 2001 to 2010 at Mount Sinai Medical Center and Geisinger Medical Center. Additional patients were provided by New York University Medical Center based on retrospective review and tissue availability. Immunohistochemistry was performed on tumors from 90 patients with known recurrence status and documented follow-up. RESULTS: Primary tumors from patients who developed recurrent disease had fewer CD2(+) cells (P = .0003). In multivariable analyses including standard clinicopathologic predictors, CD2 was an independent predictor of disease recurrence (P = .008) and overall survival (P = .007). CD2 count correlated with characterization of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (P = .0004). Among the intermediate prognosis group of patients with nonbrisk tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, CD2 count was predictive of disease recurrence (P = .0006) and overall survival (P = .0318). LIMITATIONS: Our retrospective design may have resulted in incomplete representation of patients lacking documented follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: CD2 may be an independent predictor of disease recurrence and overall survival among patients with primary cutaneous melanoma.

Dissection of immune gene networks in primary melanoma tumors critical for antitumor surveillance of patients with stage II-III resectable disease.

Patients with resected stage II-III cutaneous melanomas remain at high risk for metastasis and death. Biomarker development has been limited by the challenge of isolating high-quality RNA for transcriptome-wide profiling from formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded (FFPE) primary tumor specimens. Using NanoString technology, RNA from 40 stage II-III FFPE primary melanomas was analyzed and a 53-immune-gene panel predictive of non-progression (area under the curve (AUC)=0.920) was defined. The signature predicted disease-specific survival (DSS P<0.001) and recurrence-free survival (RFS P<0.001). CD2, the most differentially expressed gene in the training set, also predicted non-progression (P<0.001). Using publicly available microarray data from 46 primary human melanomas (GSE15605), a coexpression module enriched for the 53-gene panel was then identified using unbiased methods. A Bayesian network of signaling pathways based on this data identified driver genes. Finally, the proposed 53-gene panel was confirmed in an independent test population of 48 patients (AUC=0.787). The gene signature was an independent predictor of non-progression (P<0.001), RFS (P<0.001), and DSS (P=0.024) in the test population. The identified driver genes are potential therapeutic targets, and the 53-gene panel should be tested for clinical application using a larger data set annotated on the basis of prospectively gathered data.