PURPOSE: To assess the role of “melanoma inhibitory activity”(MIA) as a potential serum marker for screening and detection of metastatic uveal melanoma. Design: Prospective, clinical study. Material and methods: Serum samples of 305 patients with uveal melanoma were collected. Serum samples were analysed by a one-step enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to quantify the MIA serum levels. All patients underwent a standardized echography of the globe to evaluate maximum tumour height and were checked for systemic metastasis of the tumour by liver enzyme tests and ultrasonography of the liver. Results: Twenty patients (6.6%) had proven metastatic disease; eight of them developed it during follow-up. The mean serum concentration of MIA in the 285 patients withoutmetastasis was 6.72 ng/ml, whereas the mean serum concentration of MIA in the 20 patients with metastasis was 13.03 ng/ml (P< 0.001). The eight patients who developed metastatic disease during followup showed an MIA of 5.92 ng/ml before detection of metastasis and 12.21 ng/ml afterwards (P< 0.001). MIA serum levels did neither correlate with the tumour height or to whether local therapy had been applied. Conclusion: The elevation of MIA serumlevels in patients with metastatic disease from melanoma supports its promising role as a serum marker for monitoring patients with uveal melanoma.
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