Skin Cancer Breakthrough by Israeli Scientists Could Make Melanoma “Easily Curable”

August 23, 2016

2 min read

Researchers have discovered how Melanoma spreads through the body, a “breakthrough” they hope will lead to cancer becoming nonthreatening and easily curable, according to a new Tel Aviv University study done in cooperation with the German Cancer Research (DKFZ).

A 3D structure of a melanoma cell. (]National Cancer Institute via Wikimedia Commons)
A 3D structure of a melanoma cell. (National Cancer Institute)

Melanoma is an aggressive cancer that kills one person every 52 minutes, according to the international Skin Cancer Foundation.

The study, which looked at the spread of Melanoma, was published in a Nature Cell Biology article.

Scientists found that before spreading, Melanoma tumors send out small vesicles with molecules that trigger structural changes in the skin that prepare it for receiving cancer cells, and transporting them further. The scientists also found chemical substances that can stop the process, which raises hope that cancer-treating drugs could be developed.

“The threat of Melanoma is not in the initial tumor that appears on the skin, but rather in its metastasis, cancer cells sent off to colonize in vital organs like the brain, lungs, liver and bones,” Dr. Carmit Levy, the lead researcher at the human molecular genetics and biochemistry department of TAU’s Sackler School of Medicine, told the Jerusalem Post.

Researchers are discovering how the cancer spreads to distant organs and found ways to halt the process before it metastasized, Levy said.

“Our study is an important step on the road to a full remedy for the deadliest skin cancer. We hope that our findings will help turn Melanoma into a nonthreatening, easily curable disease,” she added.

Share this article

Donate today to support Israel’s needy

$10

$25

$50

$100

$250

CUSTOM AMOUNT

Subscribe

Prophecy from the Bible is revealing itself as we speak. Israel365 News is the only media outlet reporting on it.

Sign up to our free daily newsletter today to get all the most important stories directly to your inbox. See how the latest updates in Jerusalem and the world are connected to the prophecies we read in the Bible. .