Saturday, February 1, 2014

Researchers are developing a new way to identify potential therapeutic targets for melanoma resistant to drugs

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Researchers are developing a new way to identify potential therapeutic targets for melanoma resistant to drugs -

Their analysis process will identify potential new therapeutic targets

researchers Moffitt Cancer Center developed a new way to identify possible therapeutic targets for patients with melanoma drug resistant. It involves the use of the liquid mass spectrometry control of the reaction multiple chromatography to measure biomarkers or molecules in the blood and tissue that indicates cancer is present. These measures may help researchers determine whether a patient is responding to treatment.

Scientists have made significant progress identifying important molecules that contribute to melanoma growth and metastasis, such as BRAF and MEK proteins. Therapeutic agents that target these molecules have shown promising results in the clinic, and many patients have significant reductions in tumor growth and tumor burden.

"Although drugs targeted therapy, such as inhibitors of BRAF and MEK, have been associated with impressive responses in melanoma patients, most patients eventually fail therapy," said Keiran Smalley, Ph.D., associate member of the cancer biology and Evolution program at Moffitt.

tumors can develop different mechanisms of resistance and adapt targeted agents in order to survive and continue to grow. "It is likely that the long-term management of melanoma patients will require combinations of drugs, "said Smalley.

the molecular changes that lead to drug resistance varies between patients and each tumor. the identification these molecular changes with current scientific approaches is difficult, expensive and time consuming.

Smalley the team, in collaboration with the laboratory of John Koomen, Ph.D. in chemical biology and Moffitt molecular medicine program, developed a multiple liquid chromatography assay reaction monitoring mass spectrometry to analyze more than 80 proteins known to be important in melanoma progression and resistance to targeted therapies. They showed that melanoma cells that are resistant to drugs that target MEK have alterations in a number of different cell signaling pathways. The results of this kind will enable the development of new treatment strategies.

The researchers plan to accelerate the identification of proteins involved in resistance of melanoma by use of multiple chromatography reaction monitoring mass spectrometry liquid medications. The platform for the simultaneous detection of multiple proteins in small amounts of tissue samples. This also results in highly reproducible data that can be easily validated between different laboratories.


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