Skin Cancer: Melanoma Flashcards
What is the purpose of TRAIL ligands?
They are secreted to bind to a cell receptor and cause the cell to die
In what ways do melanocytes mutate to avoid TRAIL apoptosis?
1) Down-regulate TRAIL-R (reduce expression of TRAIL receptors)
2) Down-stream mutations
3) Mutate the TRAIL-R (at the surface so that it no longer signals)
4) Secrete TRAIL receptors (truncate TRAIL-R so that it no longer has a transmembrane domain).
True or false: The INK4a/ARF locus is unaffected in melanoma.
False; it will lose this locus
What is the treatment for melanoma?
1) Surgery (deep)
2) Chemotherapy (assumption is that it has already metastasized)
3) Biological Therapies
Small molecules that inhibit small molecules intrinsic to the biology of the tumor.
Biological therapies
What are 2 biological therapies for melanoma?
ANTI-PD-L1 and ANTI-CTLA-4
How do ANTI-PD-L1 and ANTI-CTLA-4 work?
They are biological therapies that target immune checkpoints of the tumor cell that make T-cells dormant; this therapy keeps T-cells active.
How do vaccines help treat melanoma?
1) Help regenerate the immune system using bone marrow from either oneself (autologous) or someone else (allogeneic)
2) Use mutant peptides to immunize your body against the proteins mutated by melanoma, causing your body to attack those proteins
What is it called when you take bone marrow from yourself before treatment, then graft it back after treatment?
Autologous
A bone marrow transplant from a donor.
Allogenic
What does it mean to say that a treatment response is not durable?
Cancer cell finds a way around the treatment
What are targeted therapies?
Therapies that target a particular pathway
Which proteins in the Ras pathway stimulate the production of melanoma cells? What therapies targets them?
BRAF and MEK1; ANTI-BRAF and ANTI-MEK1
What targeted therapy is directed at tumors that carry a KIT mutation?
Gleevec and Tasigna (ANTI-KIT)
How is melanoma treated?
1) Surgery (deep)
2) Chemotherapy (assume that melanoma has already spread)
3) Biological Therapies (These are small molecules that inhibit small molecules intrinsic to the biology of the tumor. They thereby keep the body’s T-Cells active and help regenerate the body’s immune system.)
