Existing Drug Class Shows Promise for Treating Resistant Skin Melanoma

Recent research indicates that a common class of drugs may provide new hope for patients with advanced melanoma who do not respond to traditional treatments. Published in the journal Cancer Research, the study highlights how increased activity in a specific biological pathway might explain why some melanoma tumors are resistant to immune checkpoint inhibitors, a common immunotherapy.

The investigation involved experiments on human tissue samples from over 6,000 melanoma patients, focusing on those whose tumors did not respond to immunotherapy. Notably, 40% of these samples contained mutations in the neurofibromin 1 (NF1) gene, which is linked to aggressive tumor growth. The researchers observed that melanoma cells with NF1 mutations exhibit heightened activity of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) pathway, known to promote abnormal cell growth.

Further analysis revealed that these NF1-mutant melanoma cells rely heavily on EGFR signaling for survival, making this pathway an attractive therapeutic target. Using existing EGFR-inhibiting drugs such as cetuximab and afatinib, the researchers tested their effectiveness on both cell cultures and mouse models bearing NF1-mutant tumors. The results demonstrated that these drugs significantly reduced tumor growth in NF1-mutant melanoma, while having no effect on melanomas without NF1 mutations.

Dr. Iman Osman from NYU Langone Health emphasized that this research uncovers a novel vulnerability in a subset of melanoma patients. The findings suggest that deploying EGFR inhibitors, either alone or combined with immunotherapy, could offer a new treatment strategy for patients with NF1 mutations who are resistant to current therapies.

The teamplans to advance this research into clinical trials to evaluate the safety and efficacy of EGFR inhibitors in melanoma patients. With metastatic melanoma remaining a leading cause of cancer-related death, these findings could potentially lead to more personalized and effective treatment options for those facing limited alternatives.