Israeli scientists say they can block melanoma spread

August 23, 2016

Exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays is believed to be the leading cause of melanoma

Israeli scientists have uncovered how the most severe form of skin cancer spreads to other organs in a discovery that could revolutionise treatment of the disease, they said Tuesday.

Researchers at Tel Aviv University found that melanoma, the most aggressive of all skin cancers, was able to send out tiny vesicles—small cysts or blisters—containing the disease to other parts of the body.

They were then able to develop substances to prevent the spread of the disease, which "may serve as promising candidates for future drugs" the researchers said in a statement.

"Our study is an important step on the road to a full remedy," lead researcher Carmit Levy wrote.

"We hope that our findings will help turn melanoma into a non-threatening, easily curable disease," she added.

"The threat of melanoma is not in the initial tumour that appears on the skin," wrote Levy, of the university's Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2016-08-israeli-scientists-block-melanoma.html#jCp