A groundbreaking new study has identified the gene that allows melanoma skin cancer to spread and evade the immune system – it’s hoped the findings could help save thousands of lives each year
Scientists have made a major skin cancer breakthrough which it is hoped could save thousands of lives each year.
A tiny molecule that usually helps regulate gene activity has also been shown to drive the growth of the deadly cancer by allowing tumours to evade attacks by the body’s immune system, according to the new study. The gene, named HOXD13, is a key factor in melanoma growth, said study lead investigator Pietro Berico, and also suppresses the T cell response needed to fight the cancer – allowing it to spread to other parts of the body.
Skin cancer kills approximately 2,500 people per year in the UK, and over 8,000 in the US – but researchers hope that they will soon be able to develop inhibitor medicines that tackle melanoma at a molecular level.
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Pietro Berico, a postdoctoral research fellow at New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine and Perlmutter Cancer Centre, said: “Our study provides new evidence that transcription factor HOXD13 is a potent driver of melanoma growth and that it suppresses the T cell activity needed to fight the disease.”
Dr Hernando-Monge, a professor in the Department of Pathology and a senior investigator in the study, said separate clinical trials are already underway to evaluate the safety, dose tolerance, and effectiveness of inhibitor medications to fight melanoma and other cancers. Some of the trials combined one of the inhibitors with another form of existing immunotherapy – drugs that use the immune system to attack cancer.
“This data supports the combined targeting of angiogenesis and adenosine-receptor pathways as a promising new treatment approach for HOXD13-driven melanoma,” she said. For the study, researchers analysed tumours from over 200 melanoma patients living in the US Brazil, and Mexico to see what genetic pathways were elevated or suppressed, with HOXD13 among the ones that stood out in the results.
Further experiments in mice and human melanoma cell lines showed that HOXD13 also drove angiogenesis – the formation of new blood vessels by tumours – and evasion from the immune system. Tests involving inhibition of HOXD13, VEGF, and adenosine went on to show that HOXD13 was key to the cancer’s growth and survival.
What are the symptoms of melanoma skin cancer?
The main symptom of melanoma skin cancer is a new mole or an existing mole that changes in size, shape, or colour, according to the NHS. These may present in different shades of brown, black, red, or blue.
Key warning signs include moles with uneven edges, multiple colours, or those that are itchy, inflamed, or bleeding. You should make an appointment with your GP if you notice any unusual or changing spots on your skin.
In Britain, most skin cancer diagnoses – approximately 90% – are for non-melanoma skin cancer, which is usually caused by ultraviolet light. The main types are basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).