MIA is not a useful marker for melanoma patients accompanied by Von Recklinghausen disease (NF1)

Abstract

Recently, MIA has been reported to be a useful marker in monitoring melanoma patients after primary surgery. We report a case of a melanoma patient accompanied by Von Recklinghausen disease (NF1) with high levels of serum MIA. This patient shows continuously shows a high level of serum MIA, despite no evidence of recurrence or metastasis. We analyzed the serum MIA level of 4 NF1 patients without melanoma, and in two cases the serum MIA level had clearly increased. These results suggest that we have to use MIA more carefully in its specificity, for melanoma patients accompanied by NFI. [Skin Cancer (Japan) 2005; 20: 89-92]