An international research team led by scientists from the University of Liège (Belgium) has discovered an interesting new therapeutic target for the treatment of melanoma resistant to targeted therapies. Inhibition of the VARS enzyme could prevent this therapeutic resistance by resensitizing tumors resistant to these targeted therapies. Melanoma is one of the most serious and aggressive forms of skin cancer.
When diagnosed early, melanoma is surgically removed. However, once metastases (i.e.
secondary distant tumours) have developed, melanoma becomes difficult to treat, limiting patients' chances of recovery. Every year in Belgium, around 3,000 people are diagnosed with melanoma. Doctors use targeted therapies to treat skin melanoma patients with a mutation in the BRAF gene - the gene responsible for producing B-Raf, the protein that promotes the development of cancer.
This mutation is found in over 50% of patients," explains Pierre Close, a researcher at ULiège. While targeted therapies are highly effective in shrinking tumours, almost all patients who use them will develop acquired or secondary resistance to these therapies, which limits the long-term therapeutic response". It is therefore crucial to understand the mechanisms involved in resistance to targeted therapies in order to develop new therapeutic strategies for melanoma patients.
ARNt and VARS The team from the Cancer Signalling Laboratory at ULiège, led by Pierre Close, has just made a very interesting disco.
