Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 18, 2026
08:28
Experimental Metastasis Assay
Published on: August 24, 2010
Oestrogen receptor beta and melanoma: a comparative study
V de Giorgi1, A Gori, S Gandini
1Department of Dermatology Department of Critical Care Medicine and Surgery, Division of Pathology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy. vincenzo.degiorgi@unifi.it
The British Journal of Dermatology
|September 28, 2012
Summary
Oestrogen receptor beta (ERβ) levels are lower in melanoma tissue compared to healthy skin. Lower ERβ expression is linked to thicker melanomas and is influenced by sex, with men showing reduced levels.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Dermatology
- Endocrinology
Background:
- Oestrogen receptors (ERs) are crucial in oestrogen-related tumours.
- Understanding ERs' role in cancer pathophysiology is an active research area.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the significance of oestrogen receptor beta (ERβ) in melanoma.
- To determine the relationship between ERβ expression and melanoma characteristics.
Main Methods:
- Prospective evaluation of ERβ expression in malignant melanoma (MM) and adjacent healthy skin.
- Quantitative immunohistochemistry used for analysis.
- Data collected from 1998 to 2010 at the University of Florence.
Main Results:
- ERβ was detected in 66 malignant melanocytic lesions.
- ERβ expression was significantly lower in melanoma tissue than in healthy skin (P < 0.0001).
- Lower ERβ levels were observed in thick melanomas compared to thin melanomas, with a positive association between Breslow thickness and ERβ difference (P = 0.0004).
- Men exhibited significantly lower ERβ levels than women in both melanoma and healthy tissues (P = 0.05 and P = 0.02, respectively).
Conclusions:
- ERβ expression is inversely associated with Breslow thickness in malignant melanoma.
- ERβ levels in melanoma are significantly influenced by sex.
Related Concept Videos
01:15Receptor Downregulation in MVBs
Multivesicular bodies (MVBs) are mature endosomes that sort ubiquitinated proteins and then fuse with lysosomes to degrade the sorted proteins. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) and its receptor (EGFR) form a complex that can be internalized through endocytosis, sorted into an MVB, and later degraded.
The EGFR can initiate signaling pathways that lead to cell proliferation, migration, and differentiation. Overexpression of EGFR stimulates cells to proliferate. Excessive EGFR activation may...
The EGFR can initiate signaling pathways that lead to cell proliferation, migration, and differentiation. Overexpression of EGFR stimulates cells to proliferate. Excessive EGFR activation may...
02:38Mitogens and the Cell Cycle
Mitogens and their receptors play a crucial role in controlling the progression of the cell cycle. However, the loss of mitogenic control over cell division leads to tumor formation. Therefore, mitogens and mitogen receptors play an important role in cancer research. For instance, the epidermal growth factor (EGF) - a type of mitogen and its transmembrane receptor (EGFR), decides the fate of the cell's proliferation. When EGF binds to EGFR, a member of the ErbB family of tyrosine kinase...