Scientists at the University of Michigan’s Comprehensive Cancer Center and the National Cancer Institute have identified genes that promote the growth and recurrence of skin cancer. Andrzej Dlugosz, M.D., a professor of dermatology in the U-M Medical School, and colleagues at the University of Michigan and the National Cancer Institute examined the functions of the Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway in basal cell carcinoma – the most common form of cancer – and uncovered a subset of tumor cells that were resistant to inhibition of the Hedgehog pathway. The new finding has important implications for the treatment of this widespread disease.Their report will be published in the Jan. 15 issue of Genes & Development, but is available now on the journal’s Web site.
