Binding of mistletoe lectins to cutaneous malignant melanoma: Implicationsfor prognosis and therapy

Background: Glycoconjugates, as detected by lectin histochemistry, have bee n implicated in metastasis formation in many neoplasias. However, no data c oncerning the three mistletoe lectins (MLs) and the spread of malignant mel anoma have been published. Materials and Methods: The binding status of ML- I, -II and -III was histochemically assessed in 100 malignant melanomas and correlated with metastasis in a 10 year follow-up period. Furthermore, the staining intensity of the three MLs, scored from negative (-) to very inte nse (+ + +), was evaluated. Results: Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that ve ry intense binding (+ + +) of ML-I was positively-correlated with metastasi s (p = 0.044). Conclusion: Since ML-I is specific for galactose, high densi ty galactose expression in malignant melanoma is a predictor of poor progno sis.