{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,22]],"date-time":"2026-09-22T04:07:50Z","timestamp":1790050070360,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,8,11]],"date-time":"2023-08-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1691712000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Current Oncology"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Non-professional phagocytosis in cancer has been increasingly studied in recent decades. In malignant melanoma metastasis, cell-in-cell structures have been described as a sign of cell cannibalism. To date, only low rates of cell-in-cell structures have been described in patients with malignant melanoma. To investigate these findings further, we examined twelve primary melanoma cell lines in both adherent and suspended co-incubation for evidence of engulfment. In addition, 88 malignant melanoma biopsies and 16 healthy tissue samples were evaluated. E-cadherin levels were determined in the cell lines and tissues. All primary melanoma cell lines were capable of phagocytosis, and phagocytosis increased when cells were in suspension during co-incubation. Cell-in-cell structures were also detected in most of the tissue samples. Early T stages and increasingly advanced N and M stages have correspondingly lower rates of cell-in-cell structures. Non-professional phagocytosis was also present in normal skin tissue. Non-professional phagocytosis appears to be a ubiquitous mechanism in malignant melanoma. The absence of phagocytosis in metastases may be one reason for the high rate of metastasis in malignant melanoma.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/curroncol30080547","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,8,11]],"date-time":"2023-08-11T12:10:30Z","timestamp":1691755830000},"page":"7542-7552","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["Non-Professional Phagocytosis Increases in Melanoma Cells and Tissues with Increasing E-Cadherin Expression"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"30","author":[{"given":"Luzie Helene","family":"Unseld","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Radiation Oncology, Universit\u00e4tsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-Universit\u00e4t Erlangen-N\u00fcrnberg, Universit\u00e4tsstr. 27, 91054 Erlangen, Germany"},{"name":"Comprehensive Cancer Center Erlangen-EMN, 91054 Erlangen, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1522-9591","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Laura S.","family":"Hildebrand","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Radiation Oncology, Universit\u00e4tsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-Universit\u00e4t Erlangen-N\u00fcrnberg, Universit\u00e4tsstr. 27, 91054 Erlangen, Germany"},{"name":"Comprehensive Cancer Center Erlangen-EMN, 91054 Erlangen, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3966-2872","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Florian","family":"Putz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Radiation Oncology, Universit\u00e4tsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-Universit\u00e4t Erlangen-N\u00fcrnberg, Universit\u00e4tsstr. 27, 91054 Erlangen, Germany"},{"name":"Comprehensive Cancer Center Erlangen-EMN, 91054 Erlangen, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maike","family":"B\u00fcttner-Herold","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nephropathology, Institute of Pathology, Universit\u00e4tsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-Universit\u00e4t Erlangen-N\u00fcrnberg, 91054 Erlangen, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6803-4755","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Christoph","family":"Daniel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nephropathology, Institute of Pathology, Universit\u00e4tsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-Universit\u00e4t Erlangen-N\u00fcrnberg, 91054 Erlangen, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8295-7145","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rainer","family":"Fietkau","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Radiation Oncology, Universit\u00e4tsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-Universit\u00e4t Erlangen-N\u00fcrnberg, Universit\u00e4tsstr. 27, 91054 Erlangen, Germany"},{"name":"Comprehensive Cancer Center Erlangen-EMN, 91054 Erlangen, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8040-3226","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Luitpold Valentin","family":"Distel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Radiation Oncology, Universit\u00e4tsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-Universit\u00e4t Erlangen-N\u00fcrnberg, Universit\u00e4tsstr. 27, 91054 Erlangen, Germany"},{"name":"Comprehensive Cancer Center Erlangen-EMN, 91054 Erlangen, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,8,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"533","DOI":"10.1007\/BF01937613","article-title":"Ueber Carcinom-Einschl\u00fcsse","volume":"126","author":"Steinhaus","year":"1891","journal-title":"Arch. 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