Melanoma: eaten up inside

Autophagy's dual pro- and antiapoptotic roles make it hard to determine whether inducing the process could be a viable strategy to treat cancer. In melanoma, a team led by Spanish researchers thinks the answer is yes. The group created a complex composed of a double-stranded RNA mimetic and a cationic carrier that selectively induced autophagy and cell death in melanoma but not normal skin cells.¹

The question is whether the complex can be given at low doses that bypass the known toxic effects of the dsRNA mimetic in humans...