A groundbreaking international study led by Dr. Li Qi-Jing from the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) has uncovered a novel mechanism by which melanoma, the most aggressive form of skin cancer, manages to evade the human immune system.
Melanoma, known for its high fatality rate, poses a significant challenge in its advanced stages. Although some treatments have shown promising results, a subset of melanomas remains unresponsive to current therapies, referred to as “cold” melanomas.
The recent research, published in the prestigious journal Nature Immunology, sheds light on this elusive aspect of melanoma biology. The study reveals that human melanomas employ nerve growth factor (NGF), a protein essential for nerve development, to cloak themselves from the immune system’s detection. This discovery offers insight into the immune evasion tactics employed by these treatment-resistant melanomas.
Melanoma’s ability to evade the immune system has long been a mystery, contributing to its high mortality rate. This newfound understanding of the role NGF plays in melanoma’s immune evasion could pave the way for the development of novel therapeutic strategies to target and eliminate these resilient cancer cells.
The researchers found that melanoma cells produce and secrete NGF, which in turn attracts immune cells called myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and regulatory T cells (Tregs). These immune cells, once recruited, create an immunosuppressive microenvironment around the melanoma cells, effectively shielding them from the immune system’s attack.
This study marks a significant step forward in understanding the complex interplay between melanoma and the immune system. Further research is needed to explore potential therapeutic approaches that could block the NGF-mediated immune evasion pathway, potentially leading to more effective treatments for advanced melanoma.
In summary, an international team of researchers, led by Dr. Li Qi-Jing from A*STAR, has discovered that melanoma uses nerve growth factor (NGF) to evade the human immune system, offering new insights into the immune evasion tactics employed by treatment-resistant melanomas. This finding could lead to the development of novel therapeutic strategies to target and eliminate these resilient cancer cells.
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1. Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research
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