New York University (NYU) Langone Health announced that its Perlmutter Cancer Center has received a grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to research the mechanisms behind melanoma metastasis. The researchers plan to use the grant to map the cellular and molecular evolution of primary melanoma tumors and their microenvironments, advance the understanding of how transcriptional and cellular processes drive the early dissemination of metastatic melanoma tumor cells, and identify opportunities to prevent early dissemination through systemic immune surveillance. “Through the projects supported by the [NCI] … we can begin to develop a comprehensive picture of the earliest events leading to melanoma dissemination, and we may identify processes that drive metastatic dissemination in other cancer types as well,” concluded Iman Osman, MD, the Rudolf L. Baer Professor of Dermatology in the Ronald O. Perelman Department of Dermatology and Professor of Medicine and Urology at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, as well as the Director of the Interdisciplinary Melanoma Cooperative Group at the Perlmutter Cancer Center. The researchers hope their findings may lead to the development of new therapeutic options and improved outcomes for patients with melanoma.
May 25, 2023