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| Author(s): |
Ciro Dantas Soares
Total Authors: 1
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| Document type: | Doctoral Thesis |
| Press: | Piracicaba, SP. |
| Institution: | Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Faculdade de Odontologia de Piracicaba |
| Defense date: | 2020-01-17 |
| Examining board members: |
Jacks Jorge Junior;
Bruno Augusto Benevenuto de Andrade;
Marcia Martins Marques;
Roseana de Almeida Freitas;
Sergio Roberto Peres Line
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| Advisor: | Jacks Jorge Junior |
| Abstract | |
Melanomas are tumors with an aggressive behavior that occur mainly in the skin. Mucosal head and neck melanomas, on the other hand occur in the mucous membranes of the oral and nasal cavity. These tumors are extremely aggressive; and due to its rarity, studies with these tumors regarding possible prognostic markers are still scarce in the literature. The present PhD thesis was organized in 5 chapters that discuss the expression of phosphorylated serine/threonine-protein kinase 1 (p-Akt1), cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) and mitochondrial markers in a series of cutaneous and mucous melanomas of the head and neck. We have highlighted the main conclusions of each chapter, as organized below. In the first chapter, we demonstrated that p-Akt1 protein was overexpressed in mucosal than in cutaneous melanomas and it was identified as an independent prognostic factor for mucosal melanomas. In the second chapter, we have studied the COX-2 expression in oral melanomas, demonstrating that this enzyme is an independent prognostic factor for patients with these tumors. In the third chapter, we present a series of amelanotic melanomas and the main conclusion was: the clinical and microscopic presentation of these tumors may mimic other types of lesions, and therefore they may be more difficult to diagnose. In the fourth chapter, the expression of COX-2 and Ki67 in amelanotic and conventional oral melanomas was compared. As a main conclusion, COX-2 expression was higher in amelanotic oral melanomas, as well as cell proliferation index in these tumors than in conventional oral melanomas. In the fifth chapter, the expression of three mitochondrial markers in cutaneous and mucosal melanomas was evaluated. We have demonstrated that mucosal melanomas have a higher expression of mitochondrial markers than cutaneous ones. Thus, the high number of mitochondria in tumor cells seems to play an important role in the pathogenesis of melanomas. The fission protein 1 (FIS1) was considered a prognostic factor in oral melanomas, whereas mitofusin 2 is associated with worse prognosis in patients with cutaneous melanomas. In summary, the five chapters of this thesis have contributed to a better understanding of mucosal melanomas and together present a series of possible prognostic markers that can be studied and indicated as candidates for target therapies (AU) | |
| FAPESP's process: | 15/25905-1 - Akt, COX-2, RUNX1 and MMPs expression in metastatic melanomas and Biotechnology prospection of molecules with antineoplastic activity |
| Grantee: | Ciro Dantas Soares |
| Support Opportunities: | Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate |