Within the large panel of genes that were identified to be transcriptionally altered during melanoma progression, we selected a series of markers (AKT3, EPHX3, GJB2, HOXA9, MEOX2, PON3, RBP1, SERPINE2, TBC1D16, TFAP2B, and TWIST1) for further validation. The gene discussed is PON3; the disease is melanoma.