Recent reports on the use of a quantitative measurement of S100B protein for the detection of metastatic melanoma have yielded promising results. In this study we evaluated 489 serum samples from 64 patients suffering from advanced melanoma (UICC/AJCC stage IV) to compare the sensitivity of a S100B immunoradiometric assay (IRMA) with that of conventional blood parameters as well as other known clinical prognostic factors. In a univariate statistical analysis, gender, bone metastasis, and lactate dehydrogenase and S100B levels in serum samples were found to be significant prognostic markers (P
