Experimental drug could stop melanoma

An experimental cancer drug works differently than intended and shows significant promise for stopping melanoma and possibly other forms of cancer, research from the UVA School of Medicine suggests. The findings also indicate the drug may be effective against melanomas that have resisted other forms of treatment.

The drug, pevonedistat, is already being tested in people. Scientists have been uncertain exactly how it kills cancer cells, as it shuts down many different cellular proteins – hundreds if not thousands. But the UVA researchers, led by Tarek Abbas, PhD, of the Department of Radiation Oncology and the UVA Cancer Center, have determined that the drug acts upon a particular protein that melanomas and other cancers rely on to replicate with great speed and deadly effect. By denying the cancers this essential ingredient, doctors may be able to stop melanomas and other forms of the disease.

For more information please visit University of Virginia website.