PRAME and differentiating serous carcinoma from mesothelioma

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22261449

Am J Clin Pathol. 2012 Feb;137(2):240-7.
PRAME (Preferentially Expressed Antigen of Melanoma) Is a Novel Marker for Differentiating Serous Carcinoma From Malignant Mesothelioma.
Brenne K, Nymoen DA, Reich R, Davidson B.
Source
Dept of Pathology, Oslo University Hospital, Norwegian Radium Hospital, Montebello N-0310 Oslo, Norway.

Abstract
The PRAME (preferentially expressed antigen of melanoma) gene was previously shown to be overexpressed in ovarian/primary peritoneal serous carcinoma compared with malignant mesothelioma using gene expression arrays. The objective of this study was to validate this finding at the messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein levels. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis of 126 müllerian carcinomas and 23 malignant mesotheliomas showed significantly higher PRAME mRNA expression in the former tumor (P < .001; test sensitivity and specificity, 89% and 91%, respectively). PRAME protein was expressed in 41 of 50 müllerian carcinomas and 0 of 30 mesotheliomas using Western blotting (P < .001; test sensitivity and specificity, 82% and 100%, respectively). PRAME levels in müllerian carcinoma were unrelated to survival; however, PRAME protein expression was up-regulated in solid metastases compared with primary carcinoma and effusions (P < .001). Our data confirm that PRAME effectively differentiates müllerian carcinoma from malignant mesothelioma at the mRNA and protein levels, suggesting a role in the diagnostic workup of serosal cancers.