Finding new treatment targets for advanced melanoma

Background

Melanoma of the skin is the third most common cancer in Australia, with over 16,000 people expected to be diagnosed with the disease this year. Unlike other cancers of the skin, melanoma can spread throughout the body if not treated early. Termed ‘metastatic melanoma’ this advanced form of the disease kills one Australian every 5 hours.

Once melanoma has spread, the most effective treatment is immunotherapy. These immunotherapies harness the power of immune T cells to attack tumour cells. However, more than 40% of metastatic melanoma patients are not cured with these therapies. New treatments approaches need to be identified for these patients.

The research

In this project, Professor Belz and her team will explore the role and function of a different group of immune cells called innate lymphoid cells (ILCs). Evidence suggests that a particular ILC, called ILC2, is likely to play a significant role in killing melanoma cells, but how it does this is still unclear. Professor Belz and her team will investigate the interplay between ILC2 and melanoma in detail to uncover exactly how ILC2 controls melanoma progression.

Project update

Over the past year, Professor Belz and her team made an exciting discovery about how the body helps defend against cancer. They identified a special type of early immune cell, called a lung ILC progenitor, regulated by Growth factor independent 1b (GFI1b), which enables the tissue-specific generation of various innate immune cells, including ILC1 and ILC2. This cell type is essential for generating a protective immune response against melanoma tumour cells that have spread to the lung.  

This important research could open up new possibilities for developing immune-based treatments.