Grant: China-Canada Joint Health Research Initiative

Melanoma is a type of skin cancer resulting from uncontrolled proliferation of pigmented cells in the skin. The incidence of melanoma is increasing most rapidly in the Caucasian population among all malignancies except for lung cancer in women. Melanoma is associated with one of the highest mortality rates due to its rapid metastasis and patients with metastatic melanoma have a poor prognosis, with a median survival of only 6 to 10 months. Gastric cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. More than one-third of all gastric cancer cases occur in China. Gastric cancer traditionally has a poor prognosis with five year survival less than 5%. We recently found that the novel tumour suppressor JWA plays an important role in the spread of melanoma to other organs. Strikingly, depletion of JWA in both melanoma and gastric cancer cells enhanced the growth of endothelial (blood vessel) cells. In this proposal, we will further investigate how JWA regulates blood vessel formation, cancer progression and metastasis, and test if JWA can be used as a therapeutic target for melanoma and gastric cancer. This project will not only provide insights into the role of JWA in the progression of melanoma and gastric cancer, but may also lead to more effective treatment strategies for cancer patients.