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Kevin McElwee, MD, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC The most common form of skin cancer for an individual to develop (with a 30% lifetime risk) is called basal cell carcinoma (BCC). These cancers are caused by exposure to sunlight (UV light) and grow on areas of sun exposed skin such as the face and neck. Often BCCs have to be removed by surgery which can leave scars on the face and because BCCs are so common their treatment costs Canada 70 million dollars per year. In previous studies, we and others have shown that BCC cancers use molecular mechanisms to grow that are also found in hair follicles. Hair follicles are known to protect themselves from the immune system by producing signals that block immune cells from targeting them. This is called “immune privilege”. Because BCCs and hair follicles use similar molecular signals to grow, it is possible that BCCs also have immune privilege like hair follicles. If BCCs have immune privilege this would explain why the immune system cannot target and destroy the cancers. In this study, we will look for factors in BCCs that can cause immune privilege. We will then conduct cell culture studies to see whether we can block the immune privilege and allow inflammatory cells to target the BCCs. We anticipate that these studies may lead to a new approach for BCC treatment based on suppressing the immune privilege of BCCs. By suppressing immune privilege, the patient’s own immune system may then attack and destroy the cancer. Peer-Reviewed Publications Supported by the Canadian Dermatology Foundation Zhang X, Yu M, Yu W, Weinberg J, Shapiro J, McElwee KJ. Development of Alopecia Areata Is Associated with Higher Central and Peripheral Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Tone in the Skin Graft Induced C3H/HeJ Mouse Model. J Invest Dermatol. In press. McElwee KJ. Etiology of cicatricial alopecias: a basic science point of view. Dermatol Ther. 2008; 21: 212-20. Yu M, Zloty D, Cowan B, Shapiro J, Haegert A, Bell RH, Warshawski L, Carr N, McElwee KJ. Superficial, nodular, and morpheiform basal-cell carcinomas exhibit distinct gene expression profiles. J Invest Dermatol. 2008; 128: 1797-805. Yu M, Kissling S, Freyschmidt-Paul P, Hoffmann R, Shapiro J, McElwee KJ. Interleukin-6 cytokine family member oncostatin M is a hair-follicle-expressed factor with hair growth inhibitory properties. Exp Dermatol. 2008; 17: 12-9. Yu M, Finner A, Shapiro J, Lo B, Barekatain A, McElwee KJ. Hair follicles and their role in skin health. Exp Rev Dermatol. 2006; 1: 855-871. Lu W, Shapiro J, Yu M, Barekatain A, Lo B, Finner A, McElwee KJ. Alopecia areata: pathogenesis and potential for therapy. Exp Rev Mol Med. 2006; 8: 1-19. Tang L, Cao L, Sundberg JP, Lui H, Shapiro J. Restoration of hair growth in mice with an alopecia areata-like disease using topical anthralin. Exp Dermatol 2004;13:5-10. © 2009 |
