Researchers at the Harvard-affiliated Bringham and Women’s Hospital have pinpointed the exact time when seemingly innocuous skin pigment cells mutate into melanoma. The findings were published Sept. 14 in Cell.
Melanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer, and is the leading cause of death from skin disease. Deadly skin cancer rates have been steadily increasing, and melanoma is now commonly being found in young people.
Research teams led by Yujiang Geno Shi and George Murphy, have discovered a detectable biomarker for lethal melanomas. This discovery offers a breakthrough in opportunities for skin cancer diagnostics, treatment, and prevention.
Anthony Carter of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences said “Dr. Shi and colleagues have discovered an exciting new connection between the loss of a specific chemical mark in the genome and the development of melanoma. This work is a prime example of how basic research on mechanisms of epigenetic regulation can yield clinically significant insights that hold great promise for diagnosing and treating cancer.”
The researchers found that certain biochemical elements in the DNA of normal pigment-producing skin cells and benign mole cells are absent in melanoma cells. The loss of these elements, known as 5-hmC, in skin cells indicates a cancerous melanoma. When cells lacked these methyl groups, the melanoma was at a more advanced stage.
After this discovery, the researchers were able to reverse melanoma growth. They found that, by introducing certain enzymes that cause 5-hmC to form, they could stop the growth of dangerous cells.
The finding has essentially brought forth a reversible abnormality in the DNA that could prevent skin cancer.
Melanoma is the 5th most common type of cancer in men and 7th most common for women. Every year there are about 10,000 deaths from melanoma in the United States alone.
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