Nuclear Odontogenic Ameloblast-Associated Protein (ODAM) Correlates with Melanoma Sentinel Lymph Node Metastasis

We have examined primary tumor sections from melanoma patients by immunohistochmistry (IHC) for the presence of the odontogenic ameloblast-associated protein (ODAM). Within these patient tissues we have observed a correlation of nuclear ODAM staining in the primary tumors with sentinel lymph node (SLN) metastasis. Surgically, SLN invasion in melanoma is considered an important indicator of more aggressive, invasive melanoma and to date there are limited biomarkers which strongly correlate with metastatic disease. The observation that ODAM staining in melanoma associates with SLN invasion may have important prognostic implications which could assist in the management of melanoma. Notably, ODAM expression may correlate with pathway-signaling we have previously reported to be affected by ectopic ODAM expression in cultured melanoma and breast cancer cell lines.