Role of microphthalmia-associated transcription factor in uveal melanoma and its association with clinicopathological parameters.

153 Background: High melanin content could lead to high metastatic potential in Uveal Melanoma (UM). In the Asian population, Microphthalmia-Associated Transcription Factor (MITF) regulates the melanogenesis pathway and activates Silver Protein (SILV) for eumelanin synthesis. MITF also stimulates the hypoxia–inducible factor 1-alpha (HIF-1α) gene that regulates hypoxia around the tumor microenvironment. Although their oncogenic potential has been observed in a variety of malignancies, MITF and SILV have not been investigated in UM in the Asian population. Therefore, our study aimed to detect the prognostic significance of MITF, SILV, and HIF1-α gene/protein expression levels in UM patients. Methods: Immunohistochemistry of MITF, SILV & HIF-1 α was performed on 82 UM tissue samples. Western blot of all three markers was carried out on representative cases. The mRNA expression level was done by qRT-PCR in 70 fresh UM cases. Cox proportional hazard model and log-rank test were used to determine the prognostic outcome of these markers. Results: MITF and SILV proteins were expressed in 56% and 70% of cases, respectively. High pigmentation, BAP1 loss, and HIF-1α expression were statistically correlated with MITF and SILV protein expression. Upregulation of both genes was found in more than 50% of cases at the mRNA level. This was also statistically significant with high pigmentation and HIF-1α mRNA expression. High expression of MITF protein showed reduced disease-free survival. Conclusions: Our study highlighted the fact that MITF and SILV could be potential biomarkers in UM development. Hence, it might play a key role in future therapeutic target.