UTSW scientists identify cancer-suppressing genetic mutation
Source: UT Southwestern Medical Center, December 2024
DALLAS – Dec. 23, 2024 – UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers identified a genetic mutation that slows the growth of melanoma and potentially other cancers by harnessing the power of the immune system. Their findings, published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, could lead to new treatments that improve outcomes from existing cancer immunotherapies.
“Our findings suggest a completely new type of therapeutic target that could someday be used to suppress a wide range of cancers,” said Hexin Shi, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Center for the Genetics of Host Defense and of Immunology at UT Southwestern.
Dr. Shi co-led the study with Bruce Beutler, M.D., Director of the Center for the Genetics of Host Defense and Professor of Immunology and Internal Medicine. Dr. Beutler was awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of an important family of receptors that allow mammals to quickly sense infection and trigger an inflammatory response. He is also a member of the Cellular Networks in Cancer Research Program at the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center at UTSW.