New Method Unlocks Treatment for Melanoma’s Brain Invasion
Source: Targeted Oncology, July 2024
A study explored a new approach to treating melanoma that has spread to the meninges, the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord (leptomeningeal disease or LMD). LMD is a rare but aggressive form of metastasis with very limited treatment options and poor prognosis.
The main hurdle in developing new therapies has been the lack of good models to study the disease. This research addresses this by establishing methods to grow melanoma cells from patient spinal fluid samples (CSF-CTCs) in the lab and in mice.
Using these models, researchers at the Moffitt Cancer Center screened a library of existing drugs and identified several with promising activity against the melanoma cells. One drug, homoharringtonine, showed good results in mice, significantly extending their survival.