Melanoma vs. melanoma

A Northwestern University team has discovered that some non-metastatic melanoma cells carry a signal, pigment epithelium derived factor (PEDF), that can induce immune-mediated killing of metastatic cells, pointing toward a new immunotherapeutic strategy for the disease.

Exosomes mediate communication between cells and have previously been shown to help tumors create an immunosuppressive environment. But in their study published in Nature Communications, the Northwestern researchers found the opposite can also be true: exosomes from pre-metastatic melanomas can stimulate a cancer-killing immune response...