MOLECULAR MECHANISMS UNDERLYING IMMUNOMODULATORY PDT OF DERMATOLOGICAL MELANOMA (RS 502) (RSPB2.1)

Abstract

1. ABSTRACT Increased exposure to the ultra violet radiation (UVR) from the sun, as well as lack of proper consciousness, has led to fatal malignancy with an increased mortality rate in the last ten years due to skin melanoma development, especially in people with fair and light skin. The current treatment scheme for melanoma includes chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery. Tumorigenesis is complex and dynamic at three levels: initiation, progression, metastasis. In addition, there is a tight connection with the tumors, the tumor microenvironment (TME) and the extracellular matrix, in each level (ECM). Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a minimum-invasive therapy, which combines the use of a photosensitizer (PS) with laser exposure. When the laser beam of a specific wavelength is exposed to photosensitizers, it produces reactive oxygen free radicals which can kill the exposed cells in the vicinity. A specific wavelength enables each photosensitizer to produce its action. This wavelength can determine the extent to which the light can pass through the body. Moreover, PDT is associated with immune-stimulation that inhibits cancer progression through apoptosis and tumor cell necrotization. Immune system stimulation can be detected with several biomarkers like IL10, IL12, TGF-ß and TNF-α. This work aims at studying some of the genetic markers involved in the molecular mechanisms of PDT mediated immunomodulatory treatment of skin melanoma. Our target is to explore the relation between PDT as a recent efficient method for treating oncogenic tumors and the role of a tumor microenvironment in monitoring the development of skin cancer.