DNA clue to melanoma treatment
Monday August 16th, 2010
Patients who find that treatment for the skin cancer melanoma is unsuccessful may have a problem with DNA repair genes, British researchers have warned.
Doctors hope the finding will help them identify patients for whom chemotherapy may be unsuccessful.
The study of nearly 500 patients found that DNA repair genes were active in some cancers - suggesting that there will protect the cancer from drug treatment.
The findings, from the University of Leeds, have been published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research.
Researcher Professor Julia Newton-Bishop said: "This paper identifies so-called biomarkers - changes within the tumours themselves which predict how patients will respond to treatment.
"Our study found that the increased expression of DNA repair genes in melanomas predict poorer outcome overall and provide preliminary evidence that those patients whose tumours have lower levels of the genes may respond better to standard chemotherapy for melanoma."
Sara Hiom, of Cancer Research UK, which backed the research, said: "This study shows that a genetic marker could help doctors assess whether a melanoma tumour will be resistant to chemotherapy and ensure that a patient receives a treatment that will be the most effective for them."
Jewell, R. et al., Patterns of expression of DNA repair genes and relapse from melanoma, Clinical Cancer Research (2010)
Tags: Cancer | Dermatology | Genetics | UK News
Printer friendly page