How Melanoma Cells Escape Oxidative Stress to Metastasize
Source: Weill Cornell Medicine, October 2024
Researchers have discovered how some melanoma cells defend against oxidative stress and metastasize to new organs. The anatomy of metastatic melanoma cells pictured above: podosomes (yellow), nuclei (blue), actin (red), and an actin regulator (green). Credit: National Cancer Institute, Center for Cancer Research
Investigators from Weill Cornell Medicine have discovered a defense mechanism that protects skin cancer cells from oxidative stress and helps them spread. The findings suggest a new drug target that could lead to therapies for deadly metastatic skin cancer.
When cancer cells colonize vital organs, they enter hostile territory, making it difficult to metastasize. Melanoma cells, for instance, experience high levels of oxidative stress in the bloodstream and at distant sites that kill most metastasizing cells before they can form new tumors. But what enables cancer cells to escape the effects of oxidative stress and spread?