Low numbers of tryptase+ and chymase+ mast cells associated with reduced survival and advanced tumor stage in melanoma

H Siiskonen, M Poukka, A Bykachev… - Melanoma …, 2015 - journals.lww.com
The role of mast cells in cutaneous melanoma remains unclear. Tryptase and chymase are
serine proteinases and major proteins in mast cell secretory granules. Therefore, this study
aimed to investigate the presence of tryptase+ and chymase+ mast cells in benign and
malignant cutaneous melanocytic lesions and in lymph node metastases of melanomas. The
presence of positively stained mast cells was correlated with clinicopathological
characteristics in invasive melanomas. Paraffin-embedded sections of 28 benign (13 …