Kurano M, et al. - In this trial, the experts gauged the relationship between the serum autotaxin (ATX) or phosphatidylserine-specific phospholipase A1 (PS-PLA₁) levels and melanoma. In subjects with melanoma and healthy subjects, the serum levels of ATX, ATX isoforms and PS-PLA1 were measured. They also investigated the existence of trends according to the clinical stages of melanoma. Findings revealed the relationship between ATX or PS-PLA₁ and melanoma, hinting towards the probable involvement of ATX/lysophosphatidic acids or PS-PLA₁/lysophosphatidylserine axis in the pathogenesis of melanoma. The serum total ATX and ATX isoforms were notably related to the clinical stages of female subjects with melanoma. In the melanoma subjects, serum PS-PLA₁ levels were significantly higher and were associated with the clinical stages.