Agathe Reigstad

Background

Medical student, UiB
Enlisted in The Medical Student Research Program, Faculty of Medicine, UiB

Project

Melanoma is the most lethal form of skin cancer with 200 000 incidences each year globally, and a mortality rate of about 65 000 a year. Of cancers that metastasize to the brain, melanoma is the third most common cancer to do so after lung and breast cancer, and has an average survival of less than 9 months.

The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway is the most commonly mutated pathway in melanoma. People treated with BRAF and MEK inhibitors often show relapse of the disease. The resistance is often mediated by pathway reactivation through SRC-family kinase (SFK) signaling or mutant NRAS. CCT196969 is a paradox-breaking pan RAF inhibitor, targeting simultaneously RAF and SFKs.  By targeting pan RAF and SFKs, CCT196969 have demonstrated efficacious inhibitory activity towards MEK/ERK in BRAF and NRAS mutant melanoma. The effects of the drug on brain metastasis have to our knowledge not been tested previously.

The main aim of my project is to study the effects of CCT196969 on several human brain metastasis cell lines, harboring the BRAF mutation.