Therapy for BRAFi-Resistant Melanomas: Is WNT5A the Answer?
Author
Summary, in English
In recent years, scientists have advocated the use of targeted therapies in the form of drugs that modulate genes and proteins that are directly associated with cancer progression and metastasis. Malignant melanoma is a dreadful cancer type that has been associated with the rapid dissemination of primary tumors to multiple sites, including bone, brain, liver and lungs. The discovery that approximately 40%-50% of malignant melanomas contain a mutation in BRAF at codon 600 gave scientists a new approach to tackle this disease. However, clinical studies on patients have shown that although BRAFi (BRAF inhibitors) trigger early anti-tumor responses, the majority of patients later develop resistance to the therapy. Recent studies have shown that WNT5A plays a key role in enhancing the resistance of melanoma cells to BRAFi. The focus of the current review will be on melanoma development, signaling pathways important to acquired resistance to BRAFi, and why WNT5A inhibitors are attractive candidates to be included in combinatorial therapies for melanoma.
Department/s
- Experimental Pathology, Malmö
- BioCARE: Biomarkers in Cancer Medicine improving Health Care, Education and Innovation
Publishing year
2015
Language
English
Pages
1900-1924
Publication/Series
Cancers
Volume
7
Issue
3
Links
Document type
Journal article review
Publisher
MDPI AG
Topic
- Cancer and Oncology
Status
Published
Research group
- Experimental Pathology, Malmö
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 2072-6694