Also in the May 27 JNCI

Overlapping Tumor Suppressor Genes Independently Involved in Melanoma

Mutations in the p14ARF tumor suppressor gene (ARF) may play a role in melanoma, independent of the effect of the p16 gene.

ARF and p16 are overlapping genes at a location on chromosome 9 that is frequently mutated in melanomas. Although researchers have previously demonstrated that inactivation of the p16 tumor suppressor gene occurs frequently in melanomas, it has been less clear whether alterations in ARF occur independently of p16 in human melanoma.

In the current study, David Polsky, M.D., Ph.D., of the New York University School of Medicine and colleagues examined the two genes in 60 metastatic melanoma tumors from 58 patients.

They found two or more alterations in the ARF gene in 26 of the tumors (43 percent) and two or more alterations in the p16 gene in 13 of the samples (22 percent). In 18 tumor samples (30 percent), ARF was inactivated in the presence of the most common form of p16.

The researchers conclude that loss of ARF can promote melanoma development, even in the presence of normal p16. “Human and mouse data provide strong evidence that ARF plays an important independent role in the pathogenesis of human melanoma,” the authors write.

In an accompanying editorial, Gordon Peters, Ph.D., of Cancer Research UK London Research Institute provides a broad review of mouse and human data regarding the complex p16/ARF locus and melanoma. Although there are more data pointing to p16’s role in melanoma, Peters concludes that researchers should not ignore ARF’s possible contribution. “For now, we should be content to let them share the limelight,” he writes.

Contact:

• Article: Jennifer Berman, office of communications, NYU Cancer Center, , (212) 404-3555

• Editorial: Gordon Peters, , +44 020 7269 3049
  
  

Aggressive Subclass of Prostate Cancer May be Driven By Estrogen Signaling

Aggressive prostate cancers that harbor a particular gene fusion are a distinct molecular subtype of the disease and their growth may be regulated by estrogen signaling.