CD10 expression by melanoma cells is associated with aggressive behavior in vitro and predicts rapid metastatic progression in humans.

No biological or molecular marker of primary melanoma tumor cells has been shown to predict clinical outcome in melanoma. To determine whether CD10, CD133, nestin and CD20 may evaluate the prognosis of melanoma. The differential expression of these molecules was assessed in pairs of cell lines. We evaluated, by both immunohistochemical staining and RT-qPCR, their expression in a cohort of 32 patients (68 samples) with a history of metastatic melanoma, divided into two groups according to their clinical outcome profile. CD10 over expression in cancer cell lines was associated with more aggressive behavior in vitro. A CD10-positive staining was more frequent in patients in the "rapidly progressive" group than those in the "long survivor" group (23/35 versus 2/18, p<10(-4)). CD10 expression was associated with a lower median overall survival (1.15 year - IQR: [0.50-2.58] versus 4.27 - IQR: [1.66-6.33]; p=10(-4)). The Odds Ratio of displaying a "rapidly progressive" melanoma when tumor cells expressed CD10 was 15 (95% confidence interval: [3-78]). After adjusting for confounding factors, CD10 expression in melanoma tumor cells remained associated with an increased risk of death and more rapid disease progression (p=6×10(-4); HR=3.71). CD10 may predict clinical outcome in melanoma patients.