Malignant melanoma is a very aggressive skin tumor, with a low survival rate once the stage of the metastatic disease has been reached. "Despite the current knowledge of the biology of this tumor, drug resistance is the main factor that limits the long-term efficacy of targeted therapies in melanoma patients, leading to relapse after the treatment," explained Professor Serrano.

The work demonstrates how the cell survival signaling pathway, PI3K / AKT / mTOR and RAS / RAF / MAPK, as well as HSP90 heat shock protein, are highly expressed in this type of tumor and are related to a low survival rate of these patients. "Our results demonstrate that the simultaneous inhibition of these signaling pathways decreases the melanoma cell growth, and increases the death of the tumor cells," states the researcher. "The use, therefore, of specific drug combinations directed against these target proteins seems to be a very effective therapeutic strategy for the treatment of tumors resistant to other drugs," she concludes.

The work has been carried out using samples of melanoma patients from the Biobanco of the Complejo Hospitalario Universitario of Albacete, in combination with bioinformatic analysis of gene expression arrays made in 41 cell lines and 470 melanoma tumors. The investigation is framed in one of the lines of research of the group 'Metabolism and molecular pathology,' constituted in 2015 within the Degree in Biochemistry.

The research, recently published in the prestigious journal Cancer Letters, and in which Professor Isabel Martínez-Argudo and Raúl Calero also participated, has received funding from the Provincial Board of Albacete, the Spanish Association Against Cancer and the R&D of the UCLM.

Office of Communications. Toledo, September 19, 2017