Read Time: 4 minutes
Today in
, researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah report critical new insights into how cells mount an attack against melanoma tumors.
Melanoma is an aggressive type of skin cancer that can arise from excess exposure to sun, frequent sunburns, genetics, and other environmental factors. Melanoma, like all cancers, begins within cells. Specially designed and refined over billions of years, cells are experts at working to root out and fix routine errors that arise. A tumor begins when a cell makes faulty copies of itself over and over again. If left unchecked, these faulty cell copies continue to grow into complex ecosystems that become tumors. Some tumors, like melanomas, can go on to develop mechanisms to sustain themselves with blood flow and oxygen. They can also send the cancerous cells through the body to proliferate in other organs, which ultimately causes death.
Credit: Huntsman Cancer Institute
SALT LAKE CITY - Today in
Nature Communications, researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah report critical new insights into how cells mount an attack against melanoma tumors.
Melanoma is an aggressive type of skin cancer that can arise from excess exposure to sun, frequent sunburns, genetics, and other environmental factors. Melanoma, like all cancers, begins within cells. Specially designed and refined over billions of years, cells are experts at working to root out and fix routine errors that arise. A tumor begins when a cell makes faulty copies of itself over and over again. If left unchecked, these faulty cell copies continue to grow into complex ecosystems that become tumors. Some tumors, like melanomas, can go on to develop mechanisms to sustain themselves with blood flow and oxygen. They can also send the cancerous cells through the body to proliferate in other organs, which ultimately causes death.