Non-melanoma skin cancer: new tumour-suppressing protein discovered in the skin

Non-melanoma skin cancer is by far the most common type of cancer worldwide. Sabine Werner and her team at ETH Zurich have discovered a new tumour-suppressing protein called NRF3 in the skin. In the cancer cells of patients with non-melanoma skin cancer, they found significantly reduced levels of this protein, which increased the malignancy of the cells and promoted the invasive growth of the tumours. Furthermore, they demonstrated that NRF3 exerts its tumour-suppressing effect by interacting with a protein called HSPA5. Inhibiting HSPA5 is therefore a promising option for the treatment of non-melanoma skin cancer. The Wilhelm Sander Foundation has funded the project with €418,000.