Ras gene-mutations are a rare event in human uveal and cutaneous melanomas

Melanomas are malignant tumours with high metastatic potential. The genetic alterations which lead to the transformation and progression of melanocytes to malignant melanoma remain obscure. Mutations in the ras gene family have been described, however their role in melanoma pathogenesis is still controversial. In this study we examined the incidence of H-, K- and N-ras mutations in 47 DNA samples isolated from paraffin-embedded 25 cutaneous and 22 uveal malignant melanoma tissues and a MeWo melanoma cell line using the Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of PCR products. Only one mutation in codon 61 of the N-ras gene was found suggesting that the importance of ms mutations in melanoma tumourigenesis may be limited.