New Melanoma Research
2011
Young Children With Melanoma At Risk For SLN Metastases
Young children with melanoma are more likely to have sentinel lymph node metastases than older children and young adults, according to the results of a new study.
October 20, 2011
UPDATE 1-UK cost agency rejects Bristol-Myers' skin cancer drug
Bristol-Myers Squibb's Yervoy -- the first drug to help patients with advanced melanoma live longer -- is not cost effective for use in the taxpayer-funded National Health Service (NHS), Britain's health costs watchdog said on Friday.
October 14, 2011
KGI Professor Links MicroRNA Gene To Aggressive Skin Cancer
A certain microRNA gene, miR-34b, could be a useful biomarker in early diagnosis of the most lethal forms of melanoma.
October 13, 2011
Read More
Venurafenib Will Open Floodgates For Melanoma Genotyping
The genotyping era of melanoma management is poised to launch.
The era will start with genetic assessment of every patient with advanced-stage melanoma becoming the standard of care, as soon as the Food and Drug Administration approves marketing of vemurafenib, the small-molecule inhibitor of a mutated form of the BRAF gene.
August 10, 2011
Real-Time Monitoring of Melanoma Markers Predict Relapse
Serial monitoring of melanoma tumor marker levels in peripheral blood using a novel quantitative real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction method after surgical resection of melanoma has shown promise for the early detection of patients at high risk for disease progression.
July 28, 2011
Giant Congenital Melanocytic Nevi Signal Melanoma In Kids
Pediatric melanoma can be difficult to predict, as the known risk factors in adults typically don't apply in children, but one exception is in the setting of giant congenital melanocytic nevi.
July 27, 2011
Researchers Exploring Keys To Melanoma Progression
This month in the journal Cancer Research, Lei Xu, Ph.D., assistant professor of Biomedical Genetics at the University of Rochester Medical Center, proposed that a receptor called GPR56 - which mostly has been studies in the context of brain formation -- has an important role in cancer progression.
July 21, 2011
Key Role of microRNAs in Melanoma Metastasis Identified
Researchers at the NYU Cancer Institute, an NCI-designated cancer center at NYU Langone Medical Center, identified for the first time the key role specific microRNAs (miRNAs) play in melanoma metastasis to simultaneously cause cancer cells in melanoma to simultaneously cause cancer cells to invade and immunosuppress the human body's ability to fight abnormal cells.
July 11, 2011
Daily Aspirin May Protect Against Melanoma
An aspirin a day may keep melanoma at bay, a new study suggests.
Read More
Five Genetic Variants Emerge As Strong Markers of Susceptibility For Melanoma
More than a hundred studies have proposed gene alterations that may be associated with the risk of melanoma skin cancer. Now, the first comprehensive analysis of these studies has identified just five genetic variants that are statistically significantly associated at the genome-wide level and strongly backed by epidemiologic evidence.
June 21, 2011
Adaptimmune Opens Phase I/II Clinical Trial For Metastatic Melanoma At US University
Adaptimmune is focused on the use of T-cell therapy to treat cancer, with the body's own machinery - the T lymphocyte-- a cell that is being used to target and destroy cancerous cells.
June 14, 2011
PEG-IFN Improved Relapse-Free Survival In Stage III Melanoma
Long-term adjuvant pegylated interferon alpha-2b therapy significantly improved relapse-free survival in stage III melanoma patients, but not distant metastasis-free survival or OS, according to results shown in the largest adjuvant trial ever conducted in stage III melanoma.
June 10, 2011
Ziopharm Oncology Announces Acceptance of Investigational New Drug Application for ZIN ATI-001 (Ad-RTS-IL-12), a Novel DNA-Based Oncology Therapeutic Candidate
Iopharm Oncology, Inc. a drug development company employing a small molecule and synthetic biology approaches to cancer therapy, announced today that the U.S Food & Drug Administration has accepted the Company's investigational new drug (IND) application to begin clinical study of ZIN ATI-001, a novel DNA-based therapeutic candidate also known as Ad-RTS-IL-12 + AL, in oncology.
June 10, 2011
ASCO: Melanoma Survival Benefit Called 'Astounding'
Patients with metastatic melanoma had an "astounding" 63% reduction in the risk of death when treated with an investigational agent that targets a mutation found in about half of the tumors, data from a large international trial showed.
June 5, 2011
Morphotek(R), Inc. Announces Initiation of MORAb-004 Phase II Study In Melanoma
Morphotek (R), Inc, a subsidiary of Eisai Inc., announced today that it has commenced a multi-center, phase II study of MORAb-004 for the treatment of metastatic melanoma.
June 2, 2011
Melanoma Vaccine Shows Promise In Trial
For patients with advanced melanoma, the most dangerous type of skin cancer, a vaccine combined with an immune-boosting drug is showing promise in a large clinical trial.
June 1, 2011
Penn Study Identifies Genes That May Help Predict Response To BRAF Inhibitors For Advanced Melanoma
Genetic analysis of the tumors from patients with advanced melanoma can clue researchers in to how well patients will respond to a therapy that targets the growth-promoting protein called BRAF, a researcher from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania will report on Monday, June 6 at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
June 1, 2011
Phase 3 Trial Genasense(R) In Advanced Melanoma Does Not Show Significant Increase
Genta Incoporated today announced that overall survival for patients treated with GEnasense(R) (oblimersen sodium) injection plus chemotherapy in AGENDA the Company's Phase 3 trial of Genasense(R) in patients with advanced melanoma, was not significantly superior compared with patients treated with chemotherapy alone.
May 23, 2011
Serum Test Could Define Need For SNLB Biopsy In Melanoma
The development of a serum glycoprotein microarray has led to the discovery of four proteiens for which antibodies significantly predict nodal metastases in patients with melanoma.
March 9, 2011
Link Between Obstructive Sleep Apnea And Cancer Growth In Mice
A new study links the intermittent interruption of breathing that occurs in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) to enhanced proliferation of melanoma cancer cells and increased tumor growth in mice, according to researchers in Spain.
May 18, 2011
Leucine Deprivation Proves Deadly Malignant Melanoma Cells
Whitehead Institute researchers have found that depriving human melanoma cells of the essential amino acid leucine can be lethal to the cells, suggesting a possible strategy for therapeutic intervention.
May 17, 2011
Scientists Discover Way to Amp Up Power Of Killer T Cells To Fight Melanoma
Researchers with UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have discovered a way to amp up the power of killer T-cells, called CD8 cells, making them more functional for longer periods of time and boosting their ability to multiply and expand within the body to fight melanoma, a new study has found.
May 12, 2011
Phase III Study of Investigational Compound Ipilimumab Achieves Primary Endpoint Of Improvement In Overall Survival In Previously-Untreated Patients With Metastatic Melanoma
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company announced that a clinical trial - known as study 024 - of its investigational compound ipilimumab has met the primary endpoint of improving overall survival in previously-untreated patients with metastatic melanoma.
March 21, 2011
UCLA Scientists Create New Cell Lines From Ocular Melanoma Patients
Researchers at UCLA's Jules Stein Eye Institute have created new tumor cell lines from fine-needle biopsies of ocular melanoma patients who had undergone treatment but died when their cancer spread aggressively.
March 11, 2011
Researchers Predict Age Of T Cells To Improve Cancer Treatment
Manipulation of cells by a new microfluidic device may help clinicians imporve a promising cancer therapy that harnesses the boy's own immune cells to fight such diseases as metastatic melanoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia and neuroblastoma.
March 3, 2011
First Genetic Analysis of Metastastic Melanom: Prognostic Significance of the BRAF Mutation
For the first time, a series of metastatic melanoma (MM) patients have been genetically tested for the constitutively activating BRAF mutation and assessed for its prognostic significance as is routinely done for breast cancer (HER2) and chronic myeloid leukemia (ABL).
March 1, 2011
Drug Follows Melanoma Wherever It Goes
A nanoparticle that targets melanoma and highlights cancerous tissue is entering an early-stage clinical trial.
February 17, 2011
Vical's Allovectin-7(F) Phase 3 Trial Receives Positive Review From Safety Monitoring Board
Vical incorporated today announced that an independent Safety Monitoring Board for the company's Phase 3 trial of Allovectin-7(R) in patients with metastatic melanoma has completed the trials fifth scheduled safety analysis and recommend that the trial continue per the protocol.
February 14, 2011
Neoprobe achieves accrual goal in Lymphoseek Phase 3 Study In Breast Cancer/Melanoma
Neoprobe Corporation, a diversified developer of innovative oncology surgical and diagnostic products, today announced that a multi-center Phase 3 study of Lymphoseek has enrolled clinical subjects to achieve the minimum analysis goal of 196 lymph nodes, the study's primary accrual objective.
February 14, 2011
Update 2-GSK Starts Late-Stage Trials Of Melanoma Drugs
British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline said on Monday it was starting two global late stage trials of drugs in advanced or metastatic melanoma in patients whose tumours have a particular gene mutation.
January 24, 2011
Biomaker Test Shows Promise For Melanoma Diagnosis
A new study shows that a test of biomakers for DNA methylation is technically feasible and could aid in earlier, more precise diagnosis of melanoma.
January 24, 2011
NIH Study In Mice Uncovers Pathway Critical For UV-Induced Melanoma
Scientists have made an unanticipated discovery in mice that interferon-gamma, a type of protein primarily used by the immune system for intercellular communication, acts as a promoter for the deadly form of skin cancer known as melanoma.
January 19, 2011
Faulty Gene Behind Skin Cancer Also Triggers Spread
UK-funded scientists have discovered that skin cancer can spread to the lungs when a gene in an important cell communication pathway is blocked.
January 6, 2011
2010
Researchers Study Relationship Between MITF, ATF2 In Melanoma Development
Researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute and their collaborators recently used a melanoma mouse model, cell cultures and human tissue samples to unravel the relationship between MITF and ATF2, a transcription factor (or protein that controls gene expression) that is more active in melanomas.
December 24, 2010
Mount Sinai Researchers Make Major Breakthrough In Melanoma Research
In a breakthrough that could lead to new treatments for patients with malignant melanoma, researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have discovered that a particular protein suppresses the progression of melanoma through regulation of an oncogene, or gene responsible for cancer growth.
December 22, 2010
Protein Targeted To Stop Melanoma Tumor Growth
Halting the growth of melanoma tumors by targeting MIC-1 protein that promotes blood vessel development in tumors may lead to better treatment of this invasive and deadly cancer, according to Penn State College Medicine researchers in The Foreman Foundation Research Laboratory.
December 9, 2010
Immune-based Therapy Elicits Remission of Metastatic Melanoma Lesions
Clinical trials with a novel immune-based therapy known as PV-10 (Provectus Pharmeceuticals) shows promise in the treatment of advanced melanoma.
December 1, 2010
Studies Show How Skin Cancer Evades Promising Drug
U.S. researchers have uncovered several ways in which melanoma can outsmart a promising experimental cancer pill called PLX4032, a finding that could lead to new drugs to keep the deadly skin cancer at bay.
November 24, 2010
Novel Genetic Mutation That Causes The Most Common Form Of Eye Cancer Discovered
An international, multi-center study has revealed the discovery of a novel oncogene that is associated with uveal melanoma, the most common form of eye cancer.
November 16, 2010
More evidence that melanoma does not conform to the cancer cell model
University of Michigan researchers have determined that most types of melanoma cells can form malignant tumors, providing new evidence that the deadliest form of skin cancer does not conform to the increasingly popular cancer stem cell model.
November 15, 2010
Update 1-FDA Decision On Bristol-1 Myers Cancer Drug Delayed
A U.S. approval decision on Bristol-Myers Squibb Co's highly promising experimental drug for advanced melanoma has been delayed by three months to give regulators more time to review data on the medicine, the company said on Tuesday.
November 2, 2010
Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy Unnecessary In Most Cases Of Thin Melanoma
Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) for melanoma is not intended to be a therapeutic produced, but it provides excellent information for staging the disease, an expert says. However, he says, the use of SLNB in thin melanomas is somewhat controversial.
November 1, 2010
Dietary Antioxidant Supplementation May Boost Melanoma Risk in Women
A new study suggests that dietary antioxidant supplementation does not help prevent skin cancer. In fact, in women, antioxidant supplements taken for a very long period may facilitate the development of skin cancer, especially melanoma.
November 1, 2010
Bioelectrial Signals Turn Stem Cells' Progeny, Cancerous; Newly Discovered 'Instructor Cells' Can Deliver Deadly Directions
Biologists at Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences have discovered that a change in membrane voltage in newly identified "instructor cells" can cause stem cells' descendants to trigger melanoma-like growth in pigment cells.
October 19, 2010
Genomic Systems Announces Terminal Cancer is Now Treatable in Mice
Terminal metastatic cancer - the presently untreatable cause of the great majority of all cancer deaths - has now been effectively treated in three common fatal cancers in mice, announced Genomic Systems.
September 30, 2010
Adoptive Cell Therapy Associated With Complete, Durable Regression of Melanoma Brain Metastases
Adoptive cell therapy administered with activated lymphocytes and interleukin-2 produced objective response in 50% of patients with metastatic brain melanoma in a study conducted by researchers at NIH.
September 1, 2010
Lentigo maligna melanoma, UV light exposure associated, study finds
A study shows for the first time prospectively that chronic ultraviolet (UV) light exposure raises the risk of lentigo maligna melanoma (LLM), a study co-author says.
September 1, 2010
Giant congenital nevi may pose threat of melanoma
If congenital nevi are small, there is insufficient evidence to suggest they should be removed, for they are not likely to transform into melanoma.
September 1, 2010
Scientists find 'Master Cells' that Cause Skin Cancer
For the first time scientists have identified master cells that give birth to deadly skin cancers. Researchers at Stamford University have found the 'master cells' that are responsible for the growth of malignant melanoma tumors.
July 1, 2010
Key Enzyme in Melanoma Cell Development Found
An enzyme, first discovered in 2003, could play a major role in preventing melanoma, and one day lead to more effective drugs to attack cancers and make them more treatable.
June 17, 2010
UK Scientists Develop 3D Test for Diagnosing Malignant Melanoma
UK scientists have developed a 3D test for malignant melanoma that can identify problems not easily spotted in a standard 2-dimentional view of the patterns on the skin.
May 14, 2010
Persistence of Melanoma Explained
Scientists at The Wistar Institute offer a new explanation for the persistent ability of melanoma cells to self-renew.
May 14, 2010
Americans Continually Exposed to Carcinogens
In a landmark report issued Thursday, the President's Cancer Panel asserts that public health officials have "grossly underestimated" the likelihood that environmental contaminants trigger a large proportion of the cancers diagnosed in 1.5 million Americans annually.
May 10, 2010
Infrared Device Tested to Detect Melanoma Early
"The problem with diagnosing melanoma in the year 2010 is that we don't have any objective way to diagnose this disease,' said Rhoda Alani..... Cancer cells on the skin emit more heat than healthy tissue, but the difference is very subtle. The researchers at Johns Hopkins first cool the skin with compressed air, then record temperature changes in the suspicious area over two to three minutes. Cancer cells reheat more quickly."
February 28, 2010
New Technology can Help Identify Melanoma Stage with More Accuracy
Researchers at Univ. of Missouri "are studying how photoacoustics, or a laser-induced ultrasound, could help scientists locate the general area of the lymph node where melanoma cells could be residing.... ‘This method can be used to determine if the cancer has spread from stage 2, where the melanoma is still just in the skin lesion, to stage 3, where the melanoma has spread to the lymph nodes....'"
February 24, 2010
Mitf-Mdel, a Novel Melanocyte/Melanoma-Specific Isoform of Microphthalmia-Associated Transcription Factor-M, as a Candidate Biomarker for Melanoma
"MITF-Mdel, a novel melanocyte/melanoma-specific isoform of MITF-M, may serve as a potential candidate biomarker for diagnostic and follow-up purposes in melanoma."
February 17, 2010
Phone App Developing for Early Melanoma Detection
"A mobile phone app allowing individuals to take a picture of a mole, lesion or birthmark on their bodies; send the image to Health Discovery; and immediately receive back on their mobile phone a risk assessment for melanoma and other skin cancers is nearing completion...."
February 16, 2010
NYU to Adopt Kiwi Cancer Technology
NYU "will now have access to 1000's of Kiwi and Australian melanoma case studies for their residents and researchers to examine. The unit, considered one of the top dermatology departments in the world, has adopted the MoleMap (branded ‘MoleSafe' in the US) software and database - regarded as the largest tele-dermatology system with 40 melanoma screening centers globally."
January 30, 2010
Surprising Discovery could Help Scientists Refine Treatment for Advanced Melanoma
"A team of UK scientists has made the unexpected discovery that drugs which target a well known fault in a protein called BRAF could actually fuel the progression of cancer in some cases."
January 21, 2010
How Melanomas Shield Themselves from Immune Attack
Study by Drs. M. Frank and G. Murphy "adds to a growing body of evidence that melanoma stem cells have developed a repertoire of complementary strategies to outsmart host defenses, camouflaging them from the very immune cells and therapeutic agents that seek to destroy them." Doesn't mention that some researchers question existence of such cancer stem cells, particularly for melanoma.
January 13, 2010
2009
Quest for New Anti-Tumour Prognostic and Pharmaceutical Markers for Melanoma Patients
"The constant increase in the rate of cutaneous melanoma over recent years and its resistance to anti-tumour pharmaceutical drugs has meant that the study of cutaneous melanoma is one of the greatest scientific challenges in the field of cancer." General research interests of The Human Melanoma research team at the University of the Basque Country.
December 3, 2009
Protein Markers Predict Risk of Melanoma Recurrence
Dr. D. L. Rimm et al. of Yale develop a "new prognostic tool that can
determine the risk of recurrence in melanoma patients.... The technology, based on five proteins expressed in melanoma tissue, can classify patients into a low-risk group, with 10% chance of recurrence at eight years, or a high-risk group that has a 40% probability..." Technology is the AQUATM system.
December 3, 2009
Scientist Report Major Breakthrough in Skin Implant Treatment to Fight Cancer
Harvard study of melanoma in mice. "'Inserted anywhere under the skin ... the implants activate an immune response that destroys tumor cells,' shared Bioengineer Professor David Mooney..... The ... implants are disks made of a plastic which is biodegradable...."
November 28, 2009
VIDEO: Laser Therapy Worsens Skin Cancer
Above study, in plainer English. "Researchers injected mice with melanoma cancer cells and applied cold laser therapy. They found that the laser therapy aggravated the skin cancer and increased the growth of the melanoma tumor."
November 19, 2009
Major Advances in Clinical Cancer Research in 2009: A Report From ASCO
(1) "Melanoma incidence rising in the United States. The incidence has risen sharply and cannot be attributed to increased screening alone." (Linos E et al. J Invest Derm. 2009)
(2) "Vaccine effective in melanoma. The experimental therapeutic vaccine contains part of the gp100 protein, an antigen found on melanoma cells but not on healthy cells, and stimulates T-cells to attack melanoma cells." (Schwartzentruber DJ et al ASCO 2009)
(3) "Novel drug PLX4032 effective in melanoma with BRAF mutations. The drug is an oral inhibitor of BRAF kinase, and the data come from a small phase 1 study." (Flaherty K et al. ASCO 2009).
November 17, 2009
Scientists Find 'Sibling' Cancer Genes Work Together to Fight Skin Cancer
Scientists from Cancer Research UK discovered “that BRAF, which is linked to around 70 per cent of melanomas and seven per cent of all cancers, is in fact controlled by a gene from the same RAF family called CRAF - which has also been linked to the disease….”
November 16, 2009
BioVex Completes $70 Million Financing to Conclude Pivotal Study with Its Pioneering Cancer Treatment, OncoVEX (GM-CSF)
"The proceeds of the financing will primarily be used to complete the ongoing Phase III pivotal study of OncoVEX (GM-CSF) for the treatment of recurrent and metastatic melanoma...."
November 10, 2009
Myriad Pharmaceuticals' Azixa is Efficacious in a Model of Human Brain Cancer and Its Activity is Additive With Avastin
Also, "Azixa is currently in two phase 2 studies for the treatment of primary brain tumors and one phase 2 trial for the treatment of metastatic melanoma."
October 26, 2009
Sensitizing Tumor Response to Cancer Therapy
To improve performance of dacarbazine, the drug for melanoma, nutritional scientists at Univ. of Arizona have been "testing the drug and its new analog Temozolomide in combination with various bioactive compounds to gain greater response rates on melanoma tumors in cell cultures." Article mentions quercetin, "a polyphenol found in apples, onions, green tea...."
July 28, 2009
Read More
New DNA Vaccine Inhibits Deadly Skin Cancer in Mice
Researchers from China and U.S. show how a new "DNA vaccine inhibited malignant melanoma ... in mice by eliciting antibodies that target a gastrin-releasing peptide which is known to play a key role in cancer development.... " J. Fang et al. in Clin. and Vaccine Immunology, 16.
July 21, 2009
Skin Cancer Researchers Throw New Light on Tumour Growth
Dr. S. N. Byrne et al. of Sydney Medical School in 2008 showed "that skin tumours escaping the immune system do so by secreting a compound called transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta."
July 14, 2009
Sun Warnings ‘Overstated' as Science Finds New Clue to Skin Cancer
Article quotes from some researchers on GenoMEL team. States that "the number of moles on your skin is the most important factor in the risk of getting melanoma." The quotes in this article differ from those last week. Usually illnesses involve interaction of genes and environment. Now all emphasis seems to be on genetic inheritance, not DNA changes in somatic cells due to environment. Not clear how their research, which suggests moles are inherited, would be relevant for explaining the rise in melanoma. Genetic mutations in gamete cells do not seem to occur at the rates implied.
July 11, 2009
The GenoMEL Project Identifies a New Region of the Genome Associated with the Risk of Melanoma
"The statistical studies identified three regions in the genome with variations that represent a risk of developing melanoma. Two of these regions form part of the genes TYR and MCR1, associated with skin pigmentation and sensitivity to sunlight; they had already been identified in previous studies as risk factors. The third region is on chromosome 9 and represents a new risk factor that needs to be studied...."
July 6, 2009
Moles and Melanoma: Genetic Links to Skin Cancer Found
"Professors J. Newton Bishop and T. Bishop of the Melanoma Genetics Consortium (GenoMEL) at the University of Leeds looked at more than 10,000 people, comparing those who have been diagnosed with melanoma to those who do not have the disease.... The research shows that there are at least five genes which influence the risk of melanoma. A person carrying all the variants associated with an increased risk is around eight times more likely to develop melanoma than those carrying none, though the majority of people carry at least one of these variants."
July 5, 2009
Novel Epigenetic Markers of Melanoma May Herald New Treatments for Patients
Epigenetic changes involve alterations to" the chemical modifications of DNA that regulate genes." Frequent in cancer. Drs. R. Halaban and S. Weissman of Yale studied DNA methylation in melanoma. Found "76 promoters with altered methylation patterns in melanomas.... [C]onsistentwith other research indicating that cancer cells are using DNA methylation to turn off genes that normally inhibit malignancy."
June 30, 2009
Drug May Prolong Survival in Melanoma Patients
Dr. L. Spitler et al. of The Northern California Melanoma Center showed that "patients who received GM-CSF (Sargramostim, trade name Leukine) may experience prolonged survival." Patients in study had been diagnosed "clinically free of melanoma after surgery but were at high risk of recurrence." In the J. of Immunotherapy.
June 23, 2009
UNMC Research Finds Key to Progression of Deadly Skin Cancer
Drs. S. and R. Singh et al. at Univ. of Nebraska "investigated the roles of a superfamily of small molecules called 'chemokines' and their receptor 'partner molecules' in melanoma development.... Their results suggested that CXCR1 and CXCR2 [molecules in melanoma cells] play key roles in the progression and spread of melanoma." Mouse study.
May 13, 2009
Metastatic Melanoma Therapies in Pipeline
A note hoping that advances in the molecular biology of melanoma will allow new drugs targeting a "specific defect causing cells to go awry." Also says clinical trials are "under way for an adjuvant Stage III or IV melanoma treatment -- the MAGE-A or melanoma antigen -- family A vaccine.... 60 percent to 70 percent of melanoma patients express the MAGE antigen...."
May 11, 2009
Melanoma Vaccine Still in the Works at UVA [Univ. of Virginia] Medical Center
Dr. C. Slingluff "and his team of cancer researchers have been working for years to develop a vaccine made up of melanoma cells that can't replicate in the body." Experimental.
May 10, 2009
Melanoma-Suppressing Gene Enzyme Identified
NIH study, which found that the often mutated genes "that code for matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) enzymes, MMP-8, actually serve as a tumor suppressor gene, but not an oncogene, as was previously thought."
May 5, 2009
International Melanoma Tissue Bank in the Works
AIM at Melanoma, from merger of the Charlie Guild Melanoma Foundation and the James A. Schlipmann Melanoma Cancer Foundation, has special long-term goal: an international melanoma tissue bank, based on a consortium of institutions from several countries. Article describes collaboration of AIM at Melanoma with Dr. J. M. Kirkwood of University of Pittsburgh and unique problems of developing a tumor tissue bank for researchers in melanoma.
April 23, 2009
People Who Never Sunburn May Still Get Melanoma
P. Kanetsky et al. at the Univ. of Pennsylvania found that the "presence of certain variants in the MC1R gene was linked with at least a twofold increased risk of melanoma and was largely confined to those people who would not normally be considered at increased risk."
April 21, 2009
Health and Science News. Second Item. Melanoma Protein Therapy Target Identified
Dr. A. Aplin et al. of Thomas Jefferson Univ. "discovered a protein called Mcl-1 that plays a critical role in allowing melanoma cells to metastasize." Prevents melanoma cell death. Drug obatoclax, under development, targets the protein.
April 16, 2009
Climate Change Sparks Skin Cancer Alert
"Lipotek has received $500,000 in Federal Government [of Australia] funding to develop its skin cancer vaccine, which is aimed at patients who already have melanoma."
April 20, 2009
New Method for Detection of Phosphoproteins Reveals Regulator of Melanoma Invasion
Dr. N. G. Ahn et al. of Univ. of Colorado and Howard Hughes Med. Institute, using their new method, "identified ninety phosphorylation events that were regulated by oncogenic B-Raf." New demonstration of importance of a protein for controlling melanoma cell invasion.
April 9, 2009
Scientists Unravel Crucial Skin Cancer Switch
Dr. R. Marais: "We know that excessive sun exposure is the main cause of skin cancer, but not much is known about the genetics behind it. Our study shows that the genetic damage of BRAF is the first step in skin cancer development."
April 11, 2009
Researchers Reveal How Immune Cells can be Harnessed to Target Melanoma
On above. Reveals "how a type of white blood cell - Natural Killer (NK)cells - tackles tumors, characterizing for the first time the molecular interactions that lead to melanoma destruction."
April 12, 2009
Paraplatin®, Taxol®, and Avastin® Beneficial for Metastatic Melanoma
The combination is "well tolerated and provides clinical benefit.... Researchers have speculated that the addition of Avastin to chemotherapy may help control tumor growth and progression more effectively than chemotherapy alone."
February 9, 2009
Micro RNA Plays a Key Role in Melanoma Metastasis
Dr. E. Hernando et al. of NYU on miRNA 182 as "a novel therapeutic target. When it is inhibited, it impairs the invasive potential of melanoma cells and induces cell death. In theory, the administration of anti-miRNA 182 could block the growth or expansion of the primary melanoma tumor."
February 9, 2009
2008
Skin Cancer: Designer Molecule Tackles Malignant Cells by Two Completely Different Routes
“By playing it safe and using a two-pronged attack, a novel designer molecule fights malignant melanoma. It was created and tested by an international team of researchers led by the University of Bonn.”
November 2, 2008
Read More
Substance Tackles Skin Cancer from 2 Sides
“Every single body cell is equipped with a corresponding suicide program. It is activated, for example, if the cell becomes malignant. It dies before it can do any more harm. 'But in tumours a gene is active that suppresses this suicide programme….” More on above study.
November 2, 2008
Read More
Shape Shift Rules Cancer Spread
Dr. C. Marshall and Dr. V. Sanz-Moreno in UK “have worked out how cancer cells change their shape to spread around the body. They found that melanoma cells rapidly alternate between a round shape and a more stretchy ‘elongated’ shape to help them move in different environments.”
October 31, 2008
Read More
Key Mechanism Behind Cancer Spread Explained
“'We are excited to discover that the amount and the activity of these proteins in the tumour cell regulates its shape and the mechanism for it to move and invade surrounding tissue.”
November 3, 2008
Read More
Drug Combo Could Beat Cancer
Drs. A. Strasser, C. Scott, and M. Cragg of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Med. Research. “The treatment uses a new and targeted drug to block a mutated, cancer-causing pathway in melanoma and then a novel anti-cancer drug, called ABT-737, is added….”
October 31, 2008
Read More
Thalidomide Influences Growth and Vasculogenic Mimicry Channel Formation in Melanoma
Research with mice. “Thalidomide … can induce necrosis of melanoma cells....”
November 4, 2008
Read More
Chemotherapy Enhances Vaccine-Induced Anti-Melanoma Immunity
Dr. E. Proietti of Istituto Superiore di Sanita et al. in Rome show that pretreatment "with dacarbazine, a DNA alkylating agent, enhances vaccine-induced antitumor immunity in patients with melanoma...."
January 22, 2009
Nanomedical Approach Targets Multiple Cancer Genes, Shrinks Tumors More Effectively
“Nanoparticles filled with a drug that targets two genes that trigger melanoma could offer a potential cure for this deadly disease,” from Dr..G. Robertson of Penn State. Targets Akt3 and the mutant B-Raf.
September 15, 2008
Read More
Sentinal Node Biopsy Warranted in Some Cases of Thin Melanoma
Dr. D. L. Morton’s study suggests that “5% of patients with a thin cutaneous melanoma (1 mm thickness or less) harbor occult nodal metastases, and in these patients, sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) may reveal important prognostic information.”
September 16, 2008
Read More
Gene Variant Increases Melanoma Risk
“… Portuguese researchers showed that variations in a gene known as ‘cyclin D1’ also increase susceptibility to the disease.”
September 15, 2008
Read More