Melanoma fights on two fronts. Researchers found the proteins running both — and a drug that blocks them

Melanoma is hard to treat partly because it defends itself twice over: it learns to resist the targeted drugs aimed at it, and it actively keeps the immune system's T-cells at bay while recruiting cells that suppress them. A University of Kentucky team has now traced both manoeuvres to the same two proteins, ABL1 and ABL2. In preclinical testing at the Markey Cancer Center, an existing drug, nilotinib, shut down the proteins' growth and survival signals across multiple melanoma cell lines — and, as the suppressive shield dropped, T-cells returned. 'What makes this approach promising is the possibility of attacking resistance from two directions by blocking the cancer's survival signals while allowing the immune system to reengage,' said Professor Rina Plattner. The study, published in Nature Communications, gives drug developers a concrete target where before there was a mystery.

SDG 3 · Good health and well-being — Mechanism: tech innovation