Abstract:

Objective:To investigate the expression of stem cell markers CD133, Nestin and CD44 in malignant melanoma and its significance. Methods: The expression of three markers in malignant melanoma and intradermal nevus tissues were immunohistochemically detected. Results: ⑴In malignant melanoma tissue, the positive expression rate of CD133, Nestin and CD44 were 53.33%, 80.00% and 30.00% respectively, while in intradermal nevus they were 23.33%, 53.33% and 0 respectively.The difference of each marker between malignant melanoma and intradermal nevus was of statistically significant (P＜0.05). ⑵The percentage of positive cells of CD133, Nestin and CD44 were 2.98%±5.62%,34.92%±34.89% and 1.28%±3.26% respectively,while in intradermal nevus they were 0.10%±0.21%,7.26%±13.13% and 0 respectively. The difference of each marker between malignant melanoma and intradermal nevus was of statistically significant (P＜0.05). ⑶No correlation was found in each group between the percentage of positive cells and sex ,age and the course of disease (P>0.05). Conclusions: The positive expression rate of CD133, Nestin and CD44 was higher in malignant melanoma than that in intradermal nevus. it has been suggested that cancer stem cells might exist in malignant melanoma.