Cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2) and Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Gamma (PPARG) Are Stage-Dependent Prognostic Markers of Malignant Melanoma

Table 2

Clinicopathologic parameters in relation to COX2 immunohistochemistry using TMA-2.

Variable  Categorization	Cytoplasmic COX2 immunoreactivity						Nuclear PPARG immunoreactivity					$P^{†}$
	$n$ analyzable	0 ($n$)	1+ ($n$)	2+ ($n$)	3+ ($n$)	$P^{†}$	$n$ analyzable	0 ($n$)	1+ ($n$)	2+ ($n$)	3+ (n)
Primary malignant melanomas
Clark level
II	4	3	1	0	0	.004	2	2	0	0	0	.793
III	14	3	6	3	2		12	11	1	0	0
IV	52	2	27	15	8		52	39	10	2	1
V	13	4	2	6	1		11	9	1	0	1
Tumor thickness
$\le$2.0 mm	35	8	17	6	4	.104	31	24	6	1	0	.762
$>$2.0 mm	49	4	20	18	7		47	37	7	1	2
Growth ${\text{pattern}}^{*}$
SSM	37	6	15	11	5	.748	8	5	3	0	0	.685
LMM	3	2	0	1	0		36	29	6	1	0
NM	29	2	14	9	4		5	4	1	0	0
ALM	6	1	3	1	1		27	21	3	1	2
ONA	9	1	5	2	1		2	2	0	0	0
TP53 immunoreactivity
$<$5%	67	11	28	20	8	.308	63	49	10	2	2	.883
$\ge$5%	15	0	8	4	3		15	12	3	0	0
Ki-67 labeling index
$<$5%	68	11	29	18	10	.295	64	53	9	1	1	.101
$\ge$5%	14	0	7	6	1		14	8	4	1	1
Melanoma metastases
Lymph node	42	3	9	4	26	.013	42	32	6	2	2	.136
Skin	56	6	27	6	17		53	32	18	1	2
Benign nevi
Compound & junctional	47	39	7	1	0	$<$ .001	53	53	0	0	0	—
Dermal	21	15	6	0	0		45	45	0	0	0
Congenital	51	4	45	2	0		50	50	0	0	0

${}^{*}\text{SSM}$, superfical spreading melanoma; LMM, lentigo maligna melanoma; NM, nodular melanoma; ALM, akro-lentiginous melanoma; NOS, not otherwise specified. ${}^{†}\text{Fisher}$’s exact test (two-sided), bold face representing significant data.