Melanoma Cocktail: HMB-45, MART-1 & Tyrosinase (HMB-45, A103 & BSB-6), MMab

Summary and Explanation

HMB-45 reacts against an antigen present in immature melanosomes, cutaneous, melanocytes, prenatal and infantile retinal pigment epithelium and melanoma cells. This antibody is very useful to identify Malignant Melanoma. MART-1/Melan-A is a protein antigen found on melanocytes. Antibodies against this antigen are used to recognize cells of melanocytic differentiation, useful for the diagnosis of Melanoma. The same name is used to refer to the gene which codes for this antigen. Tyrosinase is a copper-containing enzyme present in plant and animal tissues that catalyzes the production of melanin and other pigments from tyrosine by oxidation.

The MART-1/Melan-A antigen is specific for the melanocyte lineage found in normal skin, retina, and melanocytes, but not in other normal tissues. It is thus useful as a marker for Melanocytic Tumors, with the caveat that it is normally found in benign nevi as well. Anti-Tyrosinase has been found to be quite specific for melanotic lesions such as Malignant Melanoma and Melanotic Neurofibroma. Essentially no carcinomas express this marker. Melanoma cocktail HMB-45, Mart-1 and Tyrosinase are ideally suited to detect melanomas and melanocytic lesions and may prove to be a valuable marker for melanoma metastasis in sentinel lymph nodes.