Pathology study finds new immunohistochemical marker for difficult melanoma cases

Histologic diagnosis of mucosal melanoma of the head and neck is difficult, requiring immunohistochemical stains which are less reliable than in cutaneous lesions. PNL-2 is a novel marker that has not been examined in mucosal melanoma. The study reports the first characterization of PNL-2 staining in head and neck mucosal melanoma. PNL-2 demonstrates high sensitivity for mucosal melanoma, likely superior to Melan-A and MITF, and comparable to HMB-45, with specificity superior to S-100. In conclusion, the study advocates inclusion of PNL2 as an important adjunctive marker in the evaluation of these lesions.


© 2008 Head Neck, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.