Abstract: Objective To address the question whether circulating T-cells from the patients with primary and metastatic malignant melanoma show altered chemotaxis to monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (MCP-1) and its relation to tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) and metastasis. Methods Chemotactic responsiveness of T-cells towards MCP-1 and immuno-histochemistry study were investigated in patients with primary and metastatic melanoma compared to patients with basal cell carcinoma and healthy persons. Results T-cells from primary and metastatic melanoma patients showed a significantly decreased chemotactic migration towards MCP-1 and that T-cells from patients with basal cell carcinoma showed normal chemotactic response. Immuno-histochemistry study showed that there was no correlation between the density of TIL and the decreased chemotaxis of circulating T-cells to MCP-1 in patients with primary melanoma. Conclusion Circulating T-cells from patients with primary and metastatic malignant melanoma show a MCP-1-specific decrease in chemotactic migration, this may be due to abnormal expression or modulation of MCP-1-receptor on these cells.

Key words: Melanoma, T-Lymphocytes, Chemotaxis