Targeting the interaction between melanoma and immune cells could improve responses to targeted cancer therapies, Vanderbilt researchers found.
Vanderbilt investigators have discovered that cancer treatment induces an “idling” state for cells, which could promote resistance to treatment.
A PET probe that detects the amino acid glutamine predicts whether tumors respond to certain targeted therapies in preclinical animal models.
Nearly half of all patients with malignant melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer, have a mutation in the BRAF gene found in their tumors. Mutations in the BRAF gene turn on a cancer growth switch known as the MAP kinase pathway.
Combination therapy with two drugs delayed the development of treatment resistance in patients with metastatic melanoma that expresses a specific mutation in the BRAF gene.
An uncommon mutation of the BRAF gene in melanoma patients has been found to respond to a specific drug therapy, providing a rationale for routine screening and therapy in melanoma patients who harbor the BRAF L597 mutation.