CANCER RESEARCH UK scientists have shown, for the first time, how two genes from the same 'family' can interact with each other to stop cancer in its tracks - according to new findings published in Molecular Cell.
The team of scientists from Cancer Research UK's Cambridge Research Institute made the unexpected discovery that BRAF, which is linked to around 70 per cent of melanomas and seven per cent of all cancers, is in fact controlled by a gene from the same RAF family called CRAF - which has also been linked to the disease.
It is hoped this surprising finding may help scientists improve a new generation of genetically targeted treatments for cancers including melanoma.
Faults in the BRAF gene can promote the growth of cancer cells via a pathway called the MAPK. This disruption causes cells to replicate uncontrollably, leading to tumours forming.
This study looked at a drug which represents an early version of a targeted treatment for malignant melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer in patients. This drug - which targeted CRAF and to a lesser extent BRAF - wasn't successful in patients with melanoma, despite its early promise in laboratory studies.
By showing that CRAF can interact with and prevent the activation of BRAF in melanoma cell lines, the scientists think they may have explained the disappointing results which came from the clinical trial and suggest that future treatments should selectively target the BRAF protein - leaving the CRAF to help fight cancer.
Lead author, Dr David Tuveson, head of experimental medicine laboratory at Cancer Research UK's Cambridge Research Institute, said: "Previous studies on CRAF suggested it can cause cancerous changes to develop, so drugs were developed to tackle this. To our surprise, we can now see that CRAF actually helps control cancer in some situations, such as when the BRAF gene is mutated in melanoma. Strangely, in this case, two 'wrongs' make a 'right'.