Genomic deletions explain why some types of melanoma resist targeted therapies
Source: Medical Xpress, April 2024
Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer. With global incidence rates rising, new, more effective treatments are necessary to alleviate the health burden of the disease. Important advances in recent years include doctors using genetic tests to look for specific mutations they can target for more personalized, effective treatment.
Around one in two melanoma patients will have mutations in the BRAF gene. This gene normally makes a protein that helps control cell growth, but mutations can cause the cells to grow and divide uncontrollably instead, happening in many different types of cancer including melanoma.
The discovery of BRAF mutations has led to development of targeted therapies to inhibit its function. One of the standard treatment options for melanoma over the last 10 years has been to simultaneously target both BRAF mutations and MEK. These two genes are part of the MAPK signaling pathway, which, in cancer, is rewired for uncontrolled growth. Targeting two different critical points in the same domino chain helps slow or stop cancer growth.