Das Thakur, Meghna and Stuart, Darrin (2013) The evolution of melanoma resistance reveals therapeutic opportunities. Cancer Research, 73 (20). pp. 6106-6110. ISSN 0008-5472

Abstract

The RAS-RAF-MEK-ERK pathway is a key driver of proliferation and survival signals in tumor cells and has been the focus of intense drug development efforts over the past 20 years. The recent regulatory approval of RAF inhibitors and a MAP-ERK kinase (MEK) inhibitor for metastatic melanoma provides clinical validation of tumor dependency on this pathway. Unfortunately, the therapeutic benefit of these agents is often short lived and resistance develops within a matter of months. Preclinical models of resistance to vemurafenib have provided critical insights into predicting, validating, and characterizing potential mechanisms. A key observation has been that vemurafenib-resistant tumor cells suffer a fitness deficit in the absence of drug treatment and this led to the predication that modulating the selective pressure of drug treatment through intermittent dosing could delay or prevent the emergence of resistant tumors. Most importantly, the preclinical data are supported by observations in vemurafenib-treated patients with melanoma providing a strong rationale for clinical testing of alternative dosing regimens. © 2013 AACR.

Item Type:	Article
Date Deposited:	28 Nov 2017 00:45
Last Modified:	25 Jan 2019 00:46
URI:	https://oak.novartis.com/id/eprint/10578