OBJECTIVES:
* Determine the genetic profile of primary melanomas with and without synchronous regional nodal involvement by examining for 1) activating mutations B-Raf and N-Ras associated with melanoma development, and 2) allelic imbalances across the genome.
* Compare the genetic profile of primary melanomas from patients with and without lymph node involvement.
* Determine the combinations of genetic lesions that correlate with nodal metastasis by adopting a statistical machine learning approach to build a lesion-based classifier for nodal metastasis.
OUTLINE: Laser capture microdissection is performed on the archived tissue samples to isolate melanoma cells. DNA is then purified from the samples and amplified using PCR. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI)-time of flight mass spectrometry technology is used to detect mutations of B-Raf and N-Ras. Single nucleotide polymorphism arrays are also performed.
Information about the patient's demographics (e.g., TNM staging, sex, age, and tissue collection dates) will be gathered by chart review or from the Multidisciplinary Melanoma Conference at University Hospitals tumor conference report in order to match cases.
