Scientists Find Common Gene In Deadly Skin Cancers

Washington, DC (AHN) – Federal researchers say that a gene found in many dangerous melanoma skin cancers is the same gene already targeted by an approved drug used to combat breast cancer.

By using DNA sequencing, scientists from the National Institutes of Health identified the gene that is part of a group of genetic mutations involved in melanoma development.

The scientists found mutations in the ERBB4 gene in 19 percent of melanoma patients’ tumors, leading them to conclude that it was the most frequently mutated protein tyrosine kinase gene in the deadly skin cancer.

The researchers then discovered that many melanoma cells were dependent on the gene for their growth. The good news, the scientists said in a statement, is that the gene is the same gene targeted by the breast cancer drug, lapatinib, sold as Tykerb.

The drug was approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in breast cancer patients already taking the drug capecitabine, sold as Xeloda, in 2007.

The NIH will next conduct clinical trials using lapatinib in melanoma patients with the ERBB4 gene.

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