Discoveries
Research uncovers genetic trigger of metastatic melanoma
Lynda Chin, MD, is playing a key role in efforts to prevent melanoma from spreading.
Originating in the skin, melanoma becomes a danger when it disperses to other parts of the body. The recent discovery by Dana-Farber scientists of a genetic trigger of metastatic (spreading) melanoma raises hopes that blocking a key set of genes and proteins can halt the disease.
In studies with laboratory-engineered mice, investigators led by DFCI's Lynda Chin, MD, found extra copies of a gene called NEDD9 in more than one-third of melanomas that had metastasized, but not in those that had not spread.
The protein made by NEDD9 allows the cancer cells to break free of the initial skin tumor, invade surrounding tissues, and ultimately spread to distant organs. While the protein itself resists cancer drugs, some of the genes and proteins associated with it may be more easily targeted, researchers say, slowing or stopping the metastatic process.
"This finding is clinically important," says Chin, "because primary skin melanoma doesn't kill patients — metastases are the major problem. Understanding the events that drive tumors to spread may lead to identifying the most relevant targets for therapy and, potentially, for preventing metastasis."