Scientists Discovered New Ways to Fight Against Melanoma

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NEW YORK (GaeaTimes.com) — Scientists have found out new way to fight against melanoma that is considered as most aggressive form of skin cancer.

This past summer saw a revolution in melanoma therapy. Patients whose melanoma lesions contain a mutation in the BRAF gene were successfully treated with a BRAF-specific inhibitor, PLX4032.

Reports of the drug trial described shrinking tumors and improved health. Yet seven months after therapy began the tumors returned and resumed growing.

Now, scientists at The Wistar Institute explained that the tumor learns to signal around the blocked gene by adjusting its molecular wiring. They also show how to overcome resistance by simultaneously targeting multiple signaling pathways. They concluded that the targeting mutant BRAF can kill cancer cells, but it is not enough by itself to finish off melanoma