Grant supports new research into drug-resistant melanoma

Researchers at The Wistar Institute are investigating new strategies to improve treatment outcomes for patients with drug-resistant melanoma following an $800,000 translational grant from the V Foundation for Cancer Research.

The project, led by Jessie Villanueva, PhD, will focus on melanoma driven by mutations in the NRAS gene, an aggressive form of the disease that affects around one-quarter of patients and has historically been difficult to treat.

Although targeted therapies and immunotherapies have improved outcomes for many people with melanoma, some tumours develop resistance and continue to survive treatment. Villanueva’s team is investigating the biological processes that allow these resistant cancer cells to persist, with the aim of identifying new ways to improve therapeutic responses.

The researchers have identified a potential vulnerability linked to how NRAS-mutant melanoma cells process fats and manage cellular stress. By targeting these pathways and evaluating drug combinations, including some based on existing approved therapies, the team hopes to develop approaches that can prevent resistant cells from driving tumour recurrence.

“By going after the cells that survive treatment, we hope to improve outcomes for people with melanoma,” said Villanueva.

While the research is focused on melanoma, the findings could have broader implications for other cancers driven by mutations in the RAS family of genes, which are among the most common cancer-related mutations.

The V Foundation’s translational grant will support further investigation into these mechanisms and help advance potential new treatment approaches for cancers that remain difficult to treat.

More information online