Immunostaining of the estrogen receptor in conjunctival primary acquired melanosis

Conjunctival primary acquired melanosis (PAM) is a frequent precursor of co njunctival melanoma. Since there is indirect evidence that the conjunctiva is an estrogen-responsive tissue, and since it was suspected that estrogen has a role in the etiology of melanoma, we decided to evaluate whether PAM may be responsive to estrogen. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections f rom 13 cases of PAM and 2 cases of conjunctival melanoma were immunostained with an estrogen-receptor (ER)-specific antibody. All lesions and the norm al conjunctival tissue adjacent to the lesions were found to be ER negative . It is concluded that PAM and normal conjunctiva are not sensitive directl y to estrogen. When considering previously reported data, it is conceivable that the normal conjunctiva, but not PAM, is indirectly affected by estrog en.