Agnieszka Gembarska and Chris Marine (VIB/KU Leuven) have found a new line of approach in which to treat these aggressive skin cancers, namely by combating the interaction between the protein MDM4 and the tumor suppressor p53, News-medical.net reported.



Their research offers a new angle for the development of medication and confirms that combination therapies - including those using the recently developed BRAF inhibitors - hold the promise of further improvement of the clinical response to a treatment. This study was published in the authoritative journal Nature Medicine and will undoubtedly be followed with interest by the pharmaceutical industry.

"Our results are important on two levels. From a scientific perspective, it is very important that we have been able to prove that p53 plays a key role in the formation of melanomas. However, this research also offers perspectives for optimizing the existing treatment strategies for melanomas. The current treatment with BRAF inhibitors has positive effects on nearly 80% of the patients, but many of them relapse after a few months. We may have discovered a way of preventing this relapse," Chris Marine said.