Melanoma Brain Metastases: New Study Offers Insight for More Effective Cancer Treatment
Source: Medicine, July 2024
For those living with advanced melanoma, brain metastases— malignant growths that occur when cancer cells travel to the brain—are particularly challenging to treat. New findings, published April 18 in Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, could help clinicians improve treatments for this form of late-stage cancer and reduce the risk of recurrence.
Brain metastases are a risk from any cancer but are especially prevalent in certain types, including melanoma. Researchers estimate as many as 40% to 60% of those with late-stage melanoma will develop brain metastases, often resulting in death. In some cases, cancer growth is supported by a process known as vascular mimicry, in which tumors form their own vasculature, allowing nutrient flow to the tumor. Now, a team of researchers has investigated the underlying mechanisms of vascular mimicry to better understand how this process may drive the outgrowth of melanoma brain metastases and their poor response to current cancer treatments. The researchers also hope to discover how inhibiting this process could lead to a potential novel therapy.
“Brain metastasis patients are often excluded from clinical trials [due to concerns regarding drug penetration, toxicity, and their historically poor prognosis], which has slowed the development of systemic therapies for these patients,” says Lucia Jilaveanu, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine (medical oncology), member of Yale Cancer Center, and the study’s principal investigator. “Our team is hoping to provide proof-of principle of the therapeutic value of inhibiting vascular mimicry as a strategy for treating melanoma brain metastases.”