Photo courtesy of the Department of Molecular, Cell and Cancer Biology, UMass Chan
UMass Chan Medical School has received a five-year, $4.4 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to study how tiny molecules inside cells, called transfer RNAs (tRNAs), may drive the spread of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.
The grant is led by Richard I. Gregory, PhD, the Eleanor Eustis Farrington Chair in Cancer Research and chair and professor of molecular, cell and cancer biology. Dr. Gregory is collaborating with RNA researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Brown University.
tRNAs play a central role in protein production, the process that allows cells to grow and function. Recent research has shown that tRNAs and the enzymes that modify them can be altered in cancer, leading to runaway production of cancer-causing proteins. The team will study how these changes contribute to melanoma’s ability to spread, or metastasize, and whether they could serve as new targets for treatment.
“It’s important that we better understand the mechanisms of melanoma metastasis as more than 100,000 new cases of melanoma will be diagnosed in the United States this year, and when the disease spreads to organs, the five-year survival rate is only 35 percent,” said Gregory. “By uncovering how tRNA changes tumor growth, we hope to open the door to new therapies for patients with advanced diseases.”
