Dr. Danuser Discusses Impact of RacP29S Mutation in Melanoma

Gaudenz Danuser, PhD, chair of Bioinformatics at UT Southwestern Medical Center, discusses how the activation of RacP29S impacts the treatment of patients with melanoma. His lab has been studying the Rac molecule for around 20 years. The RacP29S mutation most commonly appears in melanoma, but it has since been discovered in a few other cancer types as well.

RacP29S appears to increase cancer cell migration, and its primary effect is in the increasing of proliferation in cancer cells, says Danuser. In patients with metastatic melanoma, the mutation helps maintain division and growth of cancer cells.