Distinct Pattern in Protein Production Can P redict Severe Side Effects from Skin Cancer Treatment
Source: NYULangone Health, August 2024
An activity pattern in certain genes responsible for building proteins known as spleen tyrosine kinases can predict which melanoma patients are likely to have severe side effects from immunotherapy designed to treat the most deadly skin cancer, a new study shows.
Led by researchers at NYU Langone Health and its Perlmutter Cancer Center, the latest experiments focused on checkpoint inhibitors, drugs that have in the last decade become a mainstay of treating melanoma. This form of skin cancer kills nearly 10,000 Americans annually.
The drugs work by blocking molecules (checkpoints) that sit on the surface of immune T cells and stop them from attacking cancer cells the same way they would invading viruses or bacteria. While the immune system normally uses checkpoints to recognize and protect healthy cells, cancer cells are able to hijack and turn off immune cell surveillance, evading detection. Immunotherapy drugs like nivolumab and ipilimumab are designed to block checkpoints, making cancer cells more “visible” again to T cells.