MELAN A, PROTEIN EXPRESSION AS A DIAGNOSTIC AND PROGNOSTIC FACTOR IN CANINE ORAL MELANOMAS

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the relationship between Melan A protein expression, histopathological appearance, clinical data and proliferative marker indices for the diagnosis and prognosis of canine oral melanomas. A retrospective study was performed on biopsy specimens of 65 dogs submitted during the years of 2000 to 2003 to the Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Chulalongkorn University. Our results revealed that Melan A protein expression was detected in 50.77% (33/65) malignant melanomas. The results did not show any significant differences between Melan A protein expression and histopathological classification, clinical data, average AgNORs and PCNA indices. Melan A expression could be a useful marker for melanocytic derivation diagnosis in dogs. The study indicated that the expression of Melan A protein in combination with AgNORs and PCNA indices could be used to provide a prognosis for oral melanoma in dogs.