Immunohistochemical expression of ABCB5 as a potential prognostic factor in uveal melanoma

Uveal melanoma represents the most common primary intraocular malignancy in adults; it may arise in any part of the uveal tract, with choroid and ciliary bodies being the most frequent sites of disease. In the present paper we studied ABCB5 expression levels in patients affected by uveal melanoma, both with and without metastasis, in order to evaluate if ABCB5 is associated with a higher risk of metastatic disease and can be used as a poor prognostic factor in uveal melanoma. The target population consisted of 23 patients affected by uveal melanoma with metastasis and 32 without metastatic disease. A high expression of ABCB5 was seen in patients with metastasis (14/23, 60.9%), compared to that observed in patients without metastasis (13/32, 40.6%). In conclusion, we found that ABCB5 expression levels were correlated with faster metastatic progression and poorer prognosis, indicating their role as a prognostic factor in uveal melanoma.