Stopping Moles from Turning into Cancer.

• Position: MELANOMA

In a small patch of skin no bigger than an inch, there are millions of cells all performing various duties, like protecting us from bacteria and sensing temperature. A portion of them are melanocytes, a type of cell dedicated to producing melanin, the substance that gives our skin, eyes, and hair color. If triggered by UV light from the sun, melanocytes can form moles, or beauty marks.

Though harmless moles are extremely common, some keep growing and mutating until they turn into melanoma, the most deadly type of skin cancer. While melanoma accounts for only about one percent of all skin cancers, it causes the majority of skin cancer-related deaths, most commonly in people under age 30, especially women. Approximately 30% of melanomas begin in existing moles on the skin, but why do some moles keep growing, while others do not, and can the same molecular function that stops regular moles from proliferating be applied to cancerous cells?

A Boston University-led team of researchers has some answers--and its findings could lead to new drug targets for the successful treatment of cancer. In a paper published in Nature Communications, it discovered that a signaling pathway that regulates growth in all cells--called the Hippo tumor suppressor pathway--plays a significant role in preventing the transformation of moles into melanoma. The pathway regulates growth by modulating two proteins in the cell. When active, these proteins change gene expression within cells to growth state. When inactivated, which happens when an organ reaches its...