GDF-15: a novel serum marker for metastases in uveal melanoma patients.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

About 50% of patients with uveal melanoma (UM) develop metastases during the course of their disease. We analyzed serum levels of Growth Differentiation Factor-15 (GDF-15), with the aim of identifying patients with early metastases.

METHODS:

GDF-15 concentration was measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in serum samples from 188 UM patients (170 patients without metastases; 18 patients with clinically detectable metastases) and 18 healthy control individuals. Data were analyzed with respect to differences between patients with and without clinically detectable UM metastases. GDF-15 serum levels were further analyzed with regard to significant patient and tumor characteristics as revealed by histology and multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) to determine chromosome 3 copy number. GDF-15 expression in UM was investigated by immunohistochemistry.

RESULTS:

Patients with clinically detectable metastases had significantly higher GDF-15 serum levels compared to those without clinically detectable metastases as well as to healthy individuals (ANOVA; p < 0.001). GDF-15 concentrations in UM patients with overt clinically detectable metastases were significantly higher than those in UM patients with a second malignancy in remission but without clinically detected UM metastases (ANOVA; p < 0.001). No association between serum concentration of GDF-15 and clinical, pathological, and genetic features was observed. GDF-15 protein was only expressed in a minority of UM cells in most tumors.

CONCLUSIONS:

Our data suggest that GDF-15 can be used as a serum marker for the diagnosis of metastases in UM patients. Further data collection and analysis are necessary to evaluate a possible prognostic role of GDF-15 in predicting early metastases.

• Authors: Daniela Suesskind, Andreas Schatz, Sven Schnichels, Sarah E Coupland, Sarah L Lake, Bernd Wissinger, Karl U Bartz-Schmidt, Sigrid Henke-Fahle
• Journal: Graefe's archive for clinical and experimental ophthalmology = Albrecht von Graefes Archiv fur klinische und experimentelle Ophthalmologie (Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol) Vol. 250 Issue 6 Pg. 887-95 (Jun 2012) ISSN: 1435-702X [Electronic] Germany
• PMID: 21881845 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Biomarkers
• GDF15 protein, human
• Growth Differentiation Factor 15
• L-Lactate Dehydrogenase

Topics

• Adult
• Aged
• Aged, 80 and over
• Biomarkers (blood)
• Chromosomes, Human, Pair 3 (genetics)
• Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
• Female
• Gene Amplification
• Growth Differentiation Factor 15 (blood)
• Humans
• Immunohistochemistry
• L-Lactate Dehydrogenase (blood)
• Liver Neoplasms
• Male
• Melanoma (blood, secondary)
• Middle Aged
• Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction
• Prospective Studies
• Uveal Neoplasms (blood, pathology)