So, unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the last 50 years, you know that sugar (as delicious as it is) is bad for you – addicting, fattening, and a whole host of other bad things that end in -ing.
But now some smart people have also discovered that a modification of sugar in cells spurs on the spread of skin cancer. Summarizing the science, there is an enzyme (named FUT8) that transfers a type of sugar named fucose into protein. This FUT8 enzyme is bad news because it is a driver that spurs the metastasis of melanoma.
Armed with this knowledge, the researchers then looked at ways on how this mechanism actually works. They discovered that adding fucose to a particular molecule (L1CAM) by the FUT8 enzyme kicked the metastasis into overdrive. When they were able to remove that pesky FUT8 action, they were able to stop the onset and spread of melanoma.
Now, don’t go thinking that you are going to basically just eliminate fucose from your diet and be done with it. Although the thought crossed my mind immediately, the issue is that fucose is actually a really important component for your body to function. You can read to your heart’s content about fucose if you’d like. But the upshot is, we wouldn’t do very well without it. And what we really need to do is get rid of the gene that expresses FUT8 (which has also been shown to be a contributor to Pancreatic Acinar Cell Adenocarcinoma and Smoldering Myeloma as well).
What does all this mean? Basically, if the researchers can figure out a way to remove FUT8 or at least inhibit its action, you could theoretically devise a new cancer treatment. The interesting thing about this is that the more researchers investigate, the more they discover the various mechanisms that melanoma uses to turn our cells against us. This type of research opens up new doors and while not every path will lead to a cure, it is really cool to see how we’re unraveling some of these tangled threads.