[Electron microscopic microanalysis of prickle cell carcinoma, basaloma, malignant melanoma and normal skin]

EMMA has been used in Dermatology since 10 years. In 1981, Fisher established the Cu/Zn index as a parameter for the prognosis of malignant melanoma. We tested the EMMA technique as a means to determine the Cu/Zn index in basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, malignant melanoma, and normal skin. Our preliminary conclusions are: EMMA may be useful to determine the Cu/Zn index in skin tumors; it is possible to obtain useful data from tumors already fixed in paraffin; (c) the highest Cu/Zn index was found in normal skin, the lowest one in malignant melanoma.