Elastin: A Tool for Answering Another Important Question in Melanoma

Last year, I reported that the elastic stain elastin was effective in delimiting the boundaries between original nevi and evolving malignant melanoma (JW Dermatol Sep 18 2009). Such definition is essential to determining Breslow thickness and melanoma stage. Now, researchers explore elastin's ability to resolve another problem in melanoma analysis — distinguishing melanoma regression from scarring fibrosis caused by a procedure, trauma, or a ruptured cyst or hair follicle.

Using elastic Verhoeff-van Gieson (EVG) stain and elastin immunohistochemical stain, these researchers compared elastic fiber patterns in 33 invasive melanomas with evidence of late-stage regression and 10 melanomas with scarring secondary to recent biopsy. None of the reg…