Predictive value of serum S100B for monitoring patients with metastatic melanoma during chemotherapy and/or immunotherapy

Abstract

In the immunohistology of malignant melanoma the use of polyclonal antibodies against protein S100 is well established. Recently, it was shown that S100B, a subunit of the S100 protein family, is detectable in the serum of melanoma patients and correlates with the stage of the disease in patients with metastatic melanoma. In the present study, the first evaluation of a large number of treatment observations (n = 77) in 64 different patients during chemotherapy and/or immunotherapy for advanced metastatic melanoma (stage IV) is presented. All patients received treatment according to standardized protocols comprising 8 weeks of treatment followed by routine staging procedures to evaluate therapeutic outcome. In 13 patients with tumour enlargement after first-line therapy, a second-line treatment was subsequently given. S100B immunoradiometric assay (IRMA) tests were performed before, during and after treatment at scheduled time points. In the interim analysis at 4 weeks 29 of 37 (78%) patients with tumour progression during treatment showed a raised S100B level. In the final analysis at 8 weeks, 31 of these 37 patients (84%) demonstrated rising S100B values (P < 0.001). Patients who responded to treatment (stable or regressing metastatic disease) showed constant or declining S100B levels in 38 of 40 patients (95%) at the interim analysis, at 8 weeks this was further increased to 39 of 40 patients (98%; P < 0.001). Thus, the use of S100B for monitoring treatment is adequate in the majority of cases. Our observations are of great interest for therapeutic trials of adjuvant and palliative therapies as the rise of S100B levels might indicate that re-staging and/or changes in therapy strategies should be chosen.

Chemotherapy response assessment in stage IV melanoma patients—comparison of 18F-FDG-PET/CT, CT, brain MRI, and tumormarker S-100B

“…Despite other data supporting the value of serum S-100B as a clinical marker for monitoring therapy response of metastatic melanoma during systemic therapies a clear drawback of this tumormarker is the fact that it has a false negative rate in one third of patients with metastases (7,28,29). In the present study 36% patients failed to show elevated S-100B values despite the presence of proven distant metastases.…”

Tumor type M2 pyruvate kinase (TuM2‐PK) as a novel plasma tumor marker in melanoma

“…Serving as a marker of an acute damage of the central nervous system in serum and cerebrospinal fluid for nearly a decade, 14 it was recently described as a reliable indicator of tumor load, disease progression and therapy response in patients with advanced stages of melanoma. [15][16][17][18] In these patients, S100b is a useful prognostic marker with elevated serum levels of S100b indicating a poor overall survival compared to patients with serum concentrations within normal ranges. 19 In tumor-free patients, e.g., after surgical excision of their primary tumor or lymph node metastases, tumor markers like S100b correlating with the tumor load are of no prognostic use.…”

Melanozytäre Nävi und kutanes Melanom

“…Für Patienten mit dicken Tumoren oder Zustand nach Metastasierungen sind entsprechende bildgebende Verfahren, wie Sonographie, Computertomographie oder Ganzkör-per-PET [25] einzusetzen [6]. Einige serologische Marker (S-100, MIA, L-Cystinyl-Dopa) eignen sich als Parameter in der Nachsorge und zur Kontrolle des Therapieerfolges [26,27].…”