Background: Melanoma is an aggressive disease that spreads quickly and is resistant to most therapeutic agents. In an effort to provide insight into the molecular basis of melanoma progression, the expression of 94 genes in 20 metastatic melanomas using a high-throughput real-time quantitative RT-PCR assay was analysed.
Materials and methods: A TaqMan low density array (LDA) was designed containing probes/primers directed towards a cohort of genes previously found to be differentially expressed in an isogenic cell line model of melanoma progression. For each sample, cDNA was prepared and added to the quantitative assay. The resulting data were then analysed for correlations with clinical data.
Results: Clustering analysis divided the melanomas into two major subgroups based on gene expression patterns. When analysed individually, several genes were associated with overall survival, depth and type of the primary tumour.
Conclusion: We have identified a selection of genes linked to melanoma progression and patient outcome.