ECP 2026: Epidermal Biomarker Resolves Tricky Skin Lesions

Study investigates the diagnostic utility of epidermal CD271 IHC expression in challenging melanocytic lesions

To explore the utility of the biomarker CD271 for diagnosing challenging cutaneous melanocytic lesions.

Study Design: Examined 156 challenging melanocytic lesions immunohistochemically stained for CD271, Ki-67, and PRAME.
Quantification Method: CD271 was quantified manually, while Ki-67 and PRAME were quantified using AI-driven image analysis.

CD271 was expressed in almost all basal keratinocytes in benign nevi, showing a consistent staining pattern.
This staining pattern was lost or disrupted in melanomas.
CD271 outperformed Ki-67 and PRAME in diagnostic performance with a ROC curve of 0.93 compared to 0.84 for PRAME and 0.83 for Ki-67.