Neovascularization in human cutaneous melanoma: a quantitative morphological and Doppler ultrasound study.

A study of tumour blood flow in 36 patients with 38 malignant melanomas using Doppler Ultrasound flowmetry has shown that tumour blood flow can be detected in most melanomas more than 0.9 mm thick, and is absent in most melanomas less than this thickness. Histological quantitation of blood vessels using lectin staining to delineate vascular endothelium and automated image analysis has shown a high degree of correlation between vascularity at the tumour base and tumour thickness. Since it is likely that the development of a vascular plexus at the tumour base is a prerequisite for dissemination, the development of these blood vessels may prove to be an independent prognostic factor for thin melanomas. This work also provides a new model for dynamic, in vivo investigation of the vascularity of human tumours.