Abstract
Background
With the development of novel therapies for advanced malignant melanoma (MM), biomarkers that can accurately reflect the progression of MM are needed. Recently, we have developed a method to measure the serum levels of 6-hydroxy-5-methoxyindole-2-carboxylic acid (6H5MI2C), a melanin-related metabolite, using mass spectrometry and reported that it may be a potential marker for MM.
Objective
In the present study, we compared the usefulness of serum levels of 6H5MI2C, 5-S-cysteinyl-dopa (5-S-CD), and lactate dehydrogenase (LD) as tumor markers for MM (n = 63).
Results
Among the three markers, only 6H5MI2C was significantly elevated in the metastatic group (stages III and IV) compared to the non-metastatic group (stages 0 to II). Additionally, 6H5MI2C with a cut-off level of 1.00 ng/mL showed higher sensitivity for metastatic MM than 5-S-CD and LD.
Conclusions
Thus, serum 6H5MI2C level has the potential to be a good marker for MM in comparison to 5-S-CD and LD.