Figure 8.

Hedgehog pathway activity is associated with decreased post-recurrence survival in metastatic melanoma patients. (A) Elevated SMO expression is associated with significantly shorter survival in metastatic melanoma patients (Hazard Ratio = 1.927, p = 0.0374). (B) Elevated GLI3 levels, a hedgehog pathway transcriptional repressor, is associated with increased survival in metastatic melanoma patients (Hazard Ratio = 0.15, p = 0.015). (C–D) Transcript levels of SMO and GLI3 in metastatic melanoma specimens are verified using qRT- PCR. Patient specimen numbers are listed on the x axis. Low and high expression levels of SMO and GLI3 were defined as below or above the median expression value, (*, p < 0.05).