Analysis of immunohistochemical expression of pecam-1 and endoglin in normal skin, benign melanocytic nevi, and cutaneous malignant melanoma

Objetive: We analyzed expression of PECAM-1 and endoglin for a correlation with clinicopathological behavior in CMM. Methods: Control (n = 12), CMN (n = 48), and CMM (n = 44) samples were submitted for immunohistochemistry. PECAM-1 and endoglin expression were counted in the stroma (hot spots) of all samples in order to calculate the MVD. Data analyses were performed using univariate statistical tests, with significance set at p<0.05. Results: Our findings showed that CMM exhibited higher MVD estimates for both PECAM-1 and endoglin compared to control and CMN samples (p<0.001, for all associations). Moreover, CMN samples exhibited higher MVD compared to control samples (p<0.001 for all associations). CMM from subjects with metastatic disease showed higher MVD by PECAM-1 (p=0.036) and endoglin (p=0.015) compared to non-metastatic CMM. Conclusion: Increasing MVD from normal skin to benign and malignant melanocytic tumors suggests the importance of a rich vascular network in the peritumoral stroma to support greater metabolic and energetic demands, which favors the dissemination of melanocytic tumor cells.