Melanoma ex naevo: a study of the associated naevus

It has been shown that the co-occurrence of melanoma and pre-existing naevus is not a random event and that acquired naevi may be precursors of melanoma. A critical area of chromosomal loss at 9p21 has been implicated in the genesis of malignant melanoma, representing a site of frequent somatic chromosomal deletions in melanoma. Allelic deletions within this chromosomal region most often include the tumour suppressor gene p16. The objective of this study was to search for allelic deletions on chromosome 9p21 in naevus cell clusters. A microdissection-based approach was used to analyse 30 archived primary cutaneous melanomas and associated naevi for loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at 9p21 using the polymorphic DNA markers D9S171 and IFNA. LOH was detected in 10 out of 27 informative naevi (37%) at D9S171 and in eight out of 19 (42%) at IFNA in the dissected naevus cell clusters, and in nine out of 27 (33%) at D9S171 and seven out of 19 (36%) at IFNA in the associated melanomas. In eight out of 46 (17%) cases, LOH was detected simultaneously in the naevus and the associated melanoma using both markers. Our results suggest a causal relationship for the development of melanoma within a pre-existent associated naevus. These data support the hypothesis that lesions within 9p21 play an important role in early melanoma development, since these genetic alterations are found in histologically benign melanoma-associated naevi.