New Method Unlocks Treatment for Melanoma's Brain Invasion

A study explored a new approach to treating melanoma that has spread to the meninges, the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord (leptomeningeal disease or LMD). LMD is a rare but aggressive form of metastasis with very limited treatment options and poor prognosis.

The main hurdle in developing new therapies has been the lack of good models to study the disease. This research addresses this by establishing methods to grow melanoma cells from patient spinal fluid samples (CSF-CTCs) in the lab and in mice.

Using these models, researchers at the Moffitt Cancer Center screened a library of existing drugs and identified several with promising activity against the melanoma cells. One drug, homoharringtonine, showed good results in mice, significantly extending their survival.

This study demonstrates a groundbreaking approach for developing targeted therapies for melanoma-associated LMD. It provides valuable insights into the disease biology and paves the way for potential new treatment options for patients with this aggressive cancer.

Here, Vincent Law, research associate at Moffitt Cancer Center, discusses the key takeaways and implications of this research.

Transcription:

0:05 | Leptomeningeal disease is still a relatively under studied area of cancer, it because it is what is considered as a rare form of tumor. So we're still actively studying the biology of this disease overall, because there's so much that we haven't known or hasn't been uncovered. In terms of our trial right now, the FDA-approved for phase 1 trial is ongoing, which is funded by the [Department of Defense (DoD)]. Hopefully, we'll continue moving on this phase 1 trial. If everything goes well, we'd like to pursue or phase 2 obviously.

0:40 | But also, the DCs are working really well in our animal model. We have not yet fully investigated the molecular mechanisms and cellular mechanisms of how our vaccine actually works. So being able to map these pathways and mechanism, we would allow us to better understand how this therapy work and perhaps ought to better optimize and improve the strategy of treating patients with breast cancer LMD.

Transcription created with AI and edited for clarity.