Melanoma: A Completely New Way to Attack And Kill The Most Severe Form Of Skin Cancer
Source: Revyuh, September 2022
For the first time, Sanford Burnham Prebys researchers under the direction of Ze’ev Ronai, Ph.D., have demonstrated that blocking a crucial metabolic enzyme specifically kills melanoma cells and slows tumor growth. These results, which were published in Nature Cell Biology, could lead to a new class of drugs that can be used to treat only melanoma, which is the most dangerous type of skin cancer.
Professor Ronai, who also serves as the center’s head of the NCI-designated Cancer Center at Sanford Burnham Prebys, explains, “We found that melanoma is addicted to an enzyme called GCDH. If we inhibit the enzyme, it leads to changes in a key protein, called NRF2, which acquires its ability to suppress cancer. Now, our goal is to find a drug, or drugs, that limit GCDH activity, potentially new therapeutics for melanoma.”
Researchers have been looking into ways to starve cancer cells since tumors expand quickly and need a lot of nourishment. Although this strategy seems promising, the outcomes haven’t been great. Cancers always find other food sources when they are denied one.