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Tracy Hampton, PhD

JAMA. 2008;299(13):1533.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

A protein produced naturally by the body can make the difference between a mole and melanoma, according to new research (Wajapeyee N et al. Cell. 2008;132[3]:363-374). Investigators at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester disabled genes in cancer-prone cells (that have mutations in the oncogene BRAF) to identify particular genes that block proliferation. One of the genes the researchers discovered encodes a secreted protein called IGFBP7.

IGFBP7 inhibits certain signaling pathways in cancer-prone cells containing mutations in the BRAF oncogene and it induces senescence and cell death, or apoptosis. When introduced into melanoma cells, IGFBP7 slowed the cells' growth and triggered apoptosis. In addition, when given systemically, IGFBP7 markedly suppressed growth of human tumors grafted into mice.

Finally, the researchers found that normal skin melanocytes express low but detectable levels of IGFBP7. In contrast, moles carrying the BRAF mutation express high levels of . . . [Full Text of this Article]