Studies Therapy resistance in black skin cancer increases with age

Researchers discovered mechanism of resistance formation in black skin cancer
Today, thanks to modern therapies, skin cancer can be treated even better in advanced tumors. However, sooner or later many patients will develop resistance and the disease will progress, according to the latest release from the University Hospital Essen. An international research team involving the Medical Faculty of the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) at the University Hospital Essen has now discovered a novel mechanism of resistance in black skin cancer.

Understanding the mechanisms of resistance formation in black skin cancer may, according to the researchers, open up new options for successful treatment. The identification of the hitherto unknown mechanism of resistance, which does not proceed directly from the tumor cells themselves, may explain why, in particular, older patients, targeted therapy with melanoma often does not show the desired effect. The researchers published their results in the journal "Nature".

Researchers have discovered a hitherto unknown mechanism for the development of therapy resistance in black skin cancer. (Image: Dan Race / fotolia.com)

20,000 diseases a year in Germany
According to data from the University Hospital Essen, more than 20,000 people in Germany suffer from black skin cancer each year - and the trend is rising. The disease claimed an estimated 3,500 deaths per year, affecting patients of all ages. "Targeted therapeutics have been used in Germany since 2012 to treat advanced black skin cancer," the Essen University Hospital continues. In about 70 percent of the treated patients, the tumor can be suppressed with their help in about half of the patients, however, after one year, a renewed progression of the disease is observed.

sFRP2 increases the aggressiveness of melanoma diseases
In their study, researchers addressed the question of why the response time to treatment in patients varies so widely. According to the University of Essen, it was already known that the soluble factor sFRP2 increases the aggressiveness of the melanoma disease. This is formed by connective tissue cells in the vicinity of the tumor cells. The researchers found that older connective tissue cells interestingly release higher levels of sFRP2 than younger ones, the University Hospital reports. In cell culture experiments and in the mouse model this mechanism was then examined more closely. "Among other things, it became apparent that sFRP2 is increasingly generating reactive oxygen species that cause further DNA damage in the tumor cells and thus genetic instability," explain the researchers.

Older people respond worse to the therapy
Regarding the effect of sFRP2 on therapy, the researchers report that targeting melanoma therapy is less effective in older mice than younger ones. This was also confirmed in the evaluation of the data of a large group of patients. "The younger the patients were at the start of therapy, the stronger the tumor was pushed back," according to the University Hospital. "Our observation once again demonstrates that the interaction of tumors with their environment is crucial in tumorigenesis and influences the effectiveness of therapies," Dr. Bastian Schilling, one of the study authors.

According to the new findings, demographic factors have a significant influence on the therapeutic success of black skin cancer. As the average age of the population increases, current treatments could become increasingly ineffective. "However, these results will not lead us to deprive older patients of targeted melanoma therapy," emphasizes Professor Dirk Schadendorf, Director of the Department of Dermatology at the University Hospital Essen. (Fp)