According to research published in the most recent issue of Nature, scientists have finished the first genome sequencing of the deadly skin cancer melanoma.
Scientists used cells taken from 25 human metastatic melanomas and sequenced them. They found a common thread between the melaoma genome and that of breast cancer, and evidence that the rate or number of mutations found in melanomas is contingent upon the level of ultaviolet light received.
This kind of research will help to guide future treatments. Currently malignant melanoma kills close to 10,000 people in the United States annually, and there are very few effectve treatments available.
The authors determined that the gene PREX2, associated with breast cancer, was also found in about 14 percent of the melanoma tumors. Additionally, PREX2 starts directing cancerous activity whenever genetic mutations change cell functions.
This study will contribute to a future way to define cancer that will feature the genetic makeup of the tumor in addition to organ site.
"This is a light-bulb moment in research," said study author Dr. Lynda Chin, chairman of the Department of Genomic Medicine at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. "PREX2 is a large gene, and we're not sure what aspects are critical to cancer development. We have the 'what' but now we need the 'why' and the 'how.'"
Source: US News & World Report
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