Melanoma cells growing in culture. 秘密研究所 Langone researchers seek to predict which ones will metastasize.
Photo: Karsten Moran
How does an isolated tumor that starts in melanocytes, the cells that produce skin pigment, spread so aggressively to other parts of the body? This fundamental question guides Eva Hernando, PhD, as she investigates the molecular basis of metastatic melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.
The search for answers took a critical turn when , associate professor of and a member of the joined the (IMCG) at 秘密研究所 Langone鈥檚 in 2006. The prospect of collaborating with researchers across a broad range of disciplines was a big draw for Dr. Hernando. Although cancer research often begins by studying cancer聽cells in tissue culture or in mouse models and then聽progresses to human tissue samples, Dr. Hernando starts with patient specimens. She and her colleagues use聽the IMCG鈥檚 bank of聽17,000 human tissue specimens to聽ask the questions most聽relevant to patients and then聽they design experiments to obtain answers.
Collaborative Spirit Supports Innovation
鈥淲e never work in isolation,鈥 says Dr. Hernando. 鈥淲e focus聽on different aspects of melanoma biology but with聽the main goal of understanding what makes tumor cells聽spread and how we can use that information to identify and treat patients who are at highest risk for aggressive .鈥
That collaborative spirit has resulted in a series of聽discoveries centered on rogue cells that fail to differentiate into mature melanocytes. In an article published in 2013, Dr. Hernando and her team described how melanoma cells overexpress BRD4, a protein known聽to fuel tumor growth. Inhibiting BRD4, the researchers found, inhibited melanoma growth. Last year,聽the team found that the same protein helps melanoma cells continue to proliferate. In yet another promising discovery, the team found that more aggressive melanomas lose a specific group of microRNAs, a class of聽molecules that modulate protein levels.
鈥淭he same microRNAs that regulate aggressive features聽of melanoma cells can tell us which patients are at聽higher聽risk of developing more metastatic tumors,鈥 says聽Dr.聽Hernando.
Discovery Could Lead to New Diagnostics
Better are urgently needed because current methods do not reliably predict which melanoma cells will metastasize. Once melanoma has聽spread to other parts of the body, it is very difficult to treat: if melanoma is caught early, the survival rate is聽higher than 92 percent, but when diagnosed at its most advanced stages, life expectancy can be less聽than a聽year. A聽prognostic assay based on an miRNA expression signature, combined with staging criteria, could improve patient prognoses and aid clinical management of聽patients.
Partnership Benefits Melanoma Research
As part of an exciting new initiative that has taken 秘密研究所聽Langone research to a new continent, Dr. Hernando and聽colleagues are now collaborating with the Technion鈥揑srael Institute of Technology in the聽fight against cancer.聽The partnership, funded by a聽$9聽million gift from philanthropists and 秘密研究所 Langone trustees Laura and聽Isaac Perlmutter, bridges two world-class research enterprises and is a milestone in 秘密研究所聽Langone鈥檚 commitment to international collaboration.
