Map3k1 Loss Cooperates With BrafV600E to Drive Melanomagenesis

Precursor melanoma lesions harbour somatic alterations that activate the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signalling pathway, most commonly through the driver oncogenes BRAF and NRAS (Shain et al. 2018). The identification of the additional genetic events required to fully trigger malignant progression has been challenging due to the high mutation burden in cutaneous melanomas (Cancer Genome Atlas Network 2015). Large-scale sequencing studies revealed that the majority of the mutations present in cutaneous melanomas carry a signature of ultraviolet radiation (UVR)-induced DNA damage, consistent with the observation that cutaneous melanoma commonly arises on sun-exposed skin (Shain and Bastian 2016).
Source: Journal of Investigative Dermatology - Category: Dermatology Authors: Tags: Letters to the Editor Source Type: research