Abstract
Background
Characterization of the MAPK signaling pathway in melanoma has led to the development of MEK inhibitors for the treatment of NRAS-mutated melanoma. The success of molecular-targeted therapies underscores the need to identify mutations in target genes. Most of the current data on genetic mutations have been obtained from Caucasian melanoma patients, and screenings of Asian populations are limited.
Objective
The aim of the present study was to examine NRAS mutations in primary and metastatic lesions of Japanese melanoma patients.
Methods
Clinical melanoma specimens were collected from 127 Japanese patients, including primary (n = 67), metastatic (n = 25) and paired primary and metastatic lesions (n = 35). NRAS mutations in exons 1 and 2 were assessed by polymerase chain reaction and Sanger sequencing.
Results
The incidence of NRAS mutations was 7.1 %. NRAS Q61 was the predominant genetic alteration (77.8 %). NRAS mutations were most frequently detected in acral melanomas (9.3 %), followed by melanomas without chronic sun-induced damage (7.0 %) and mucosal melanomas (4.8 %), and were not detected in melanomas with chronic sun-induced damage. In addition, NRAS mutations were more prevalent in the extremities than in other sites. The NRAS sequence in metastatic lesions did not match that of the primary tumor in one case.
Conclusion
The frequency of NRAS mutations is lower in the Asian population than in Caucasian patients. The observed heterogeneity of melanoma suggests that genotyping of both primary and metastatic lesions is important to identify candidate patients for molecular-targeted therapies.
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Acknowledgments
This study was supported by a Grant-in-Aid from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of the Japanese government (AA, EO, YK, and RO) and a Grant-in-Aid from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan, Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science (HU, HK, and YK).
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
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H. Uhara and A. Ashida contributed equally.
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Uhara, H., Ashida, A., Koga, H. et al. NRAS mutations in primary and metastatic melanomas of Japanese patients. Int J Clin Oncol 19, 544–548 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10147-013-0573-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10147-013-0573-2