Innovative Research on Oxidizing Agents and Melanoma Cells
Source: The Munich Eye, April 2025
Melanoma, recognized as the most aggressive type of skin cancer, poses severe health risks due to its ability to metastasize, despite being less common than other skin cancers. The primary risk factor for melanoma is prolonged exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, which leads to oxidative stress and inflammation in skin cells through photo-oxidative reactions.
Both ultraviolet and visible light can activate naturally occurring photosensitizers within tissues, converting light energy into reactive chemical species that damage essential biomolecules, including lipids in cellular membranes. However, these oxidative reactions can also be harnessed for therapeutic applications, such as in photodynamic therapy, which targets tumor cells and pathogens.
At the Center for Research on Redox Processes in Biomedicine (Redoxoma) at the University of São Paulo (USP), researchers have been investigating several oxidizing agents in conjunction with photodynamic therapy to develop new treatment strategies against melanoma.