Sheri Holmen on Understanding Drivers of Melanoma Metastasis

Sheri Holmen, PhD, investigator, Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery, Adjunct Professor in the Department of Oncological Sciences, Huntsman Cancer Institute, the University of Utah School of Medicine, discusses understanding drivers for melanoma metastasis.

The biggest unmet clinical need in melanoma is treating metastatic disease, says Holmen. Although there have been many new FDA approved therapies for melamine over the past five years, many patients still succumb to metastatic disease, often in the brain.

Holmen’s lab created an in-vivo model that allows oncologists to better understand the biology behind melanoma brain metastasis and test new therapies more rapidly. It is an immune combatant model, which means that both new immunotherapies and and targeted therapies can be tested in it, says Holmen. By using this model Holmen’s team has found evidence that AKT pathway may drive metastasis.

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