Combining therapies for melanoma that induce cell senescence and that activate the immune response may improve outcomes for patients.

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.

Melanoma patients whose tumors test positive for mutations in the NRAS gene were more likely to benefit from new immunotherapy drugs, according to a new study led by Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) investigators.

Melanoma is the most lethal form of skin cancer, with high mortality rates. While new drugs have been approved to treat the disease, patients nearly always develop resistance to the therapies and the cancer advances.

The activity of a certain factor in immune cells is essential for an anti-tumor response, emphasizing the need to consider the effects of anti-cancer therapies on immune cells.

A Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) melanoma patient is using his passion for golf to support melanoma research efforts at VICC.

New Vanderbilt research suggests patients with advanced melanoma — the most deadly form of skin cancer — could safely benefit from a combination of immunotherapy and targeted therapies aimed at specific gene mutations.