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Soo Park, MD
Soo Park, MD
Posted: Wednesday, January 22, 2025
Given the increased risk of death or disease recurrence in patients with primary melanoma, efforts have been dedicated to identifying potential prognostic or predictive biomarkers, according to a retrospective, case-control study published in JCO Precision Oncology. The use of DNA methylation classes to characterize melanomas may be a beneficial prognostic strategy in predicting 5-year death from melanoma, explained Kathleen Conway, PhD, of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and colleagues.
“Combinations of epigenetic, antiproliferative, or other targeted therapies with immune checkpoint inhibitors are under study and may offer promising treatment strategies,” stated the study authors.
A total of 422 patients with stage II (n = 224) or stage III (n = 198) primary melanoma were recruited for the InterMEL study. All patients were diagnosed between 1998 and 2015. Patients who died within 5 years of their melanoma diagnosis were defined as cases, and patients who lived longer than 5 years without evidence of recurrence or relapse were defined as controls. The extent of DNA methylation was quantified, and patients were monitored to assess their long-term clinical outcomes.
The study authors reported the three primary DNA methylation classes as CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP), intermediate methylation (IM), and low methylation (LM). The American Joint Committee on Cancer stage, mitotic index, and Breslow thickness were significantly increased for the CIMP and IM classes compared with the LM class. In addition, the nodal stage was higher for the IM class than for the CIMP and LM classes. Furthermore, the likelihood of 5-year death from melanoma was significantly increased for the CIMP (odds ratio [OR] = 2.16) and IM (OR = 2.00) classes compared with the LM class.
Disclosure: Dr. Conway reported no conflicts of interest. For full disclosures of the other study authors, visit ascopubs.org.
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