Defining the role of CD2 in disease progression and overall survival among patients with completely resected stage-II to -III cutaneous melanoma

Background Accurate assessment of prognosis remains clinically challenging in stage II to III cutaneous melanoma. Studies have implicated CD2 in immune surveillance, T-cell activation, and antitumor immunity, but its role in melanoma progression warrants further investigation. Objective We sought to investigate the prognostic role of CD2 in primary cutaneous melanoma. Methods Patients with American Joint Committee on Cancer stage II and III cutaneous melanoma were identified by retrospective review of dermatopathology databases from 2001 to 2010 at Mount Sinai Medical Center and Geisinger Medical Center. Additional patients were provided by New York University Medical Center based on retrospective review and tissue availability. Immunohistochemistry was performed on tumors from 90 patients with known recurrence status and documented follow-up. Results Primary tumors from patients who developed recurrent disease had fewer CD2⁺ cells (P =.0003). In multivariable analyses including standard clinicopathologic predictors, CD2 was an independent predictor of disease recurrence (P =.008) and overall survival (P =.007). CD2 count correlated with characterization of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (P =.0004). Among the intermediate prognosis group of patients with nonbrisk tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, CD2 count was predictive of disease recurrence (P =.0006) and overall survival (P =.0318). Limitations Our retrospective design may have resulted in incomplete representation of patients lacking documented follow-up. Conclusions CD2 may be an independent predictor of disease recurrence and overall survival among patients with primary cutaneous melanoma.