Unregistered User If this is not your name, click here.
		Contact Us | Order Now | Journals | Bookstore | Register a colleague
	Select a ChannelAcneAIDS and HIVAllergy OtherAlzheimer'sAnaesthesiology OtherAngina Pectoris/MIAnxietyArthritis OtherAsthmaBack PainBacterial InfectionsBladder CancerBone Marrow TransplantationBreast CancerCardiology OtherCataractCell TransplantationCervical CancerCholesterol/Lipid disordersCirrhosisClinical PharmacologyColorectal CancerCongestive Heart FailureContact DermatitisContraceptionCOPDCystic FibrosisDental and Oral DisordersDepressionDermatology OtherDiabetesDialysisEating DisordersElbowEmergency MedicineEndocrinology OtherEpilepsyErectile DysfunctionFibromyalgiaGastro OtherGeneticsGenitourinary OtherGeriatricsGERD/GastritisGlaucomaH. Pylori/UlcerHaematology OtherHair LossHeadachesHepa/Biliary OtherHepatitisHipHRTHypertensionIBDImmunologyInfectious OtherInfertilityIntensive CareIrritable Bowel SyndromeKneeLeukemiasLiver CancerLung CancerLupusLymphomasMelanomaMenopauseMultiple Sclerosis Nephrology OtherNeurologic OtherNutritional / Metabolic OtherOb/Gyn OtherObesityOncology OtherOphth. OtherOphthalmic SurgeryOrgan TransplantationOrthopaedics OtherOsteoarthritisOsteoporosisOtitisOtorhino. OtherOvarian CancerPaediatricsPainPancreatic CancerParkinson'sPregnancyProstate CancerPsychiatry OtherPulmonary OtherRadiologyRenal CancerRenal FailureRespiratory InfectionsRheumatoid arthritisRheumatology OtherRhinitisSchizophreniaShoulderSleep ApnoeaSleep DisordersSpineStrokeSTDsSurgeryThyroid DisordersTransfusionTransplant Surgery OtherTraumaUrinary IncontinenceUrinary tract infectionsVaccinologyVascular DisordersViral Infections

SEARCH   News Bookstore Medline The Web Meetings & Congresses Complete Doctor's Guide    EXPLORE :    All News   All Webcasts   All Cases   All Meetings & Congresses   All Medical Resources New drugs / indications English Dictionary Medical Dictionary Thesaurus Warning | Privacy | Awards  Favourite Journals  Click here to choose your favourite journals  Favourite Sites  Click here to choose your favourite sites  Languages  Select languageEnglishFrançais

Researchers Identify Gene That Suppresses Tumour Growth in Melanoma BETHESDA, Md -- April 1, 2009 -- Researchers have identified a gene that suppresses tumour growth in melanoma. The finding is reported in the April issue of the journal Nature Genetics as part of a systematic genetic analysis of a group of enzymes implicated in skin cancer and many other types of cancer. The analysis found that one-quarter of human melanoma tumours had changes, or mutations, in genes that code for matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) enzymes. The findings lay the foundation for more individualised cancer treatment strategies where MMP and other key enzymes play a functional role in tumour growth and spread of the disease. "This research is an illustrative proof of concept that shows the value of genomic strategies for understanding cancer and possible therapies," said Eric Green, MD, National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland. "It is gratifying to see that genomic technologies are guiding scientific discovery, advancing cancer research, especially melanoma research." The new study may help to explain the disappointing performance of drugs designed to treat cancer by blocking MMP enzymes. Because members of the MMP gene family were thought to be oncogenes and many tumours express high levels of MMP enzymes, researchers have spent decades pursuing MMPs as promising targets for cancer therapies. However, when MMP inhibitors were tested in people with a wide range of cancers, the drugs failed to slow -- and in some cases even sped up -- tumour growth. Now, it turns out that one of the most often mutated MMP genes in melanoma is not an oncogene at all. Researchers found that MMP-8 actually serves as a tumour suppressor gene in melanoma. Consequently, in the estimated 6% of melanoma patients whose tumours harbour a mutated MMP-8 gene or related tumour suppressor(s), it may not be wise to block all MMPs. The study suggests that a better approach may be to look for drugs that restore or increase MMP-8 function or for drugs that block only those MMPs that are truly oncogenes. To explore the role of MMP genes in melanoma, the NHGRI researchers studied a bank of tumour and blood samples collected from 79 patients with aggressive melanoma. Specifically, they compared the sequence of MMP genes in tumours and normal DNA from the same patients, looking for mutations in all 23 members of the MMP gene family. They identified 28 different mutations in 8 MMP genes in the melanoma tumours studied. These mutations were found to be distributed in different frequencies and patterns among the tumour samples. Nearly one-quarter of the tumours analysed had at least 1 MMP gene mutation. Some mutations were found in as few as 3% of tumours, while more than 6% of tumours had mutations in MMP-8 and more than 7% had mutations in MMP-27, which codes for an enzyme very similar to MMP-8. SOURCE: National Institutes of Health E-mail this page to a friend or colleague! To print, use this version