Scientists have discovered the switch that melanoma uses to create its own blood vessels and at the same time block the immune cells that should destroy it.

Written by Douglas Avila

Published on 23/04/2026 at 22:08

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Researchers discovered the protein that skin cancer uses as a switch to create blood vessels, feed itself, and simultaneously block the cells that should destroy it

Melanoma, the most aggressive type of skin cancer, has just had one of its biggest secrets revealed.

Researchers at NYU Langone Health and the Perlmutter Cancer Center in the United States have discovered that a protein called HOXD13 functions as a “master switch” that melanoma simultaneously uses for two critical functions: creating new blood vessels that feed the tumor and blocking T-cells — the immune system’s soldiers that should destroy it.

In other words, cancer has found a single key that turns on the food supply and turns off the defense at the same time.

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How melanoma uses HOXD13 to hide and feed itself simultaneously

To grow, any tumor needs two things: nutrients and protection from the immune system.

Furthermore, melanoma has developed a particularly sophisticated strategy. The HOXD13 protein — a transcription factor that regulates gene activity — plays a central role in this strategy.

Firstly, HOXD13 stimulates angiogenesis — the process of forming new blood vessels that connect the tumor to the body’s blood supply. In this way, the tumor ensures oxygen and nutrients for growth.

At the same time, the same protein activates the adenosine pathway — a molecule that functions as a “brake” for the immune system’s T-cells. Consequently, the cells that should recognize and destroy the tumor are deactivated before they can act.

In practice, it’s as if melanoma built a direct road to the restaurant and simultaneously put all the police officers to sleep.

What happened when scientists turned off the melanoma switch

The most promising discovery of the study is what happened when researchers reduced HOXD13 activity in laboratory experiments.

Consequently, the tumors shrank. Furthermore, the blood vessels that fed the melanoma were reduced, and T-cells resumed attacking the cancerous cells.

Thus, turning off a single molecular switch was enough to reverse the two advantages the tumor had built.

To give an idea of the potential impact, melanoma is responsible for 80% of skin cancer deaths worldwide, despite representing only 4% of skin cancer diagnoses. Therefore, any advance in understanding how it protects itself is clinically relevant.

Protein discovered: HOXD13 — transcription factor that functions as a “master switch”
Dual function: creates blood vessels (angiogenesis) + blocks T-cells (adenosine pathway)
Experimental result: reducing HOXD13 shrank tumors in the lab
Institution: NYU Langone Health / Perlmutter Cancer Center (USA)
Publication: April 2026
Melanoma causes 80% of skin cancer deaths

The new treatment strategy: attacking two targets with a single therapy

Currently, treatments for advanced melanoma include immunotherapy (which tries to reactivate the immune system) and anti-angiogenics (which try to cut off the tumor’s blood supply).

However, these approaches work in isolation — and the tumor often finds ways to circumvent one while the other is active.

The discovery of HOXD13 suggests a new approach: attacking both mechanisms simultaneously through a single molecular pathway.

According to NYU Langone, the combination of targets in angiogenesis and adenosine receptors “is proposed as a promising approach for the treatment of HOXD13-driven melanomas.”

In practice, this means that future drugs could be designed to specifically block HOXD13 — simultaneously shutting down the blood vessel factory and reactivating the immune system against the tumor.

This line of research connects to other recent discoveries about how the body interacts with diseases in unexpected ways, such as that doctors cut a tissue for centuries without knowing it was a functional organ.

melanoma treatment skin cancer research immunotherapy laboratory

Why early melanoma detection is still the best defense

Despite the advance, researchers emphasize that early detection remains the most important factor for surviving melanoma.

When diagnosed in an early stage — still limited to the skin’s surface — the 5-year survival rate exceeds 99%. However, when the tumor spreads to other organs, this rate drops to less than 30%.

Furthermore, the incidence of melanoma has increased by 27% in the last two decades in countries with high sun exposure — including Brazil, Australia, and Southern Europe.

Therefore, while science seeks ways to turn off the HOXD13 switch within tumors, the best protection remains observing changes in moles and skin spots and seeking a dermatologist at the slightest sign of alteration.

Furthermore, Brazil is one of the countries with the highest incidence of melanoma in Latin America. Consequently, any advance in understanding the tumor’s mechanisms has a direct impact on national public health — especially in the South and Southeast regions, where the fair-skinned population is more exposed to ultraviolet radiation.

In practice, if HOXD13 is confirmed as a viable therapeutic target, Brazilian patients with advanced melanoma could gain access to a new class of drugs that attacks the tumor on two fronts simultaneously — something no current therapy can do in an integrated way.

The limitations highlighted by the researchers themselves

Despite the importance of the discovery, the results are still preclinical. That is, the experiments were conducted in the laboratory, not in human patients.

Consequently, the path between turning off HOXD13 in laboratory cells and developing a drug that does the same safely in people can take years — or even decades.

Furthermore, melanoma is known for its capacity for mutation and adaptation. Even if HOXD13 therapies initially work, the tumor may develop resistance — as has already happened with other immunotherapies.

Nevertheless, understanding the mechanism by which the tumor builds its own survival infrastructure is a fundamental step. Just as the Greenland shark revealed genetic secrets about cancer resistance, HOXD13 could be the key to understanding why melanoma is so lethal — and how to stop it.

Could turning off a single molecular switch be the difference between a tumor that kills and one that the body can destroy on its own?

Scientists have discovered the switch that melanoma uses to create its own blood vessels and at the same time block the immune cells that should destroy it.

Researchers discovered the protein that skin cancer uses as a switch to create blood vessels, feed itself, and simultaneously block the cells that should destroy it

How melanoma uses HOXD13 to hide and feed itself simultaneously

What happened when scientists turned off the melanoma switch

The new treatment strategy: attacking two targets with a single therapy

Why early melanoma detection is still the best defense

The limitations highlighted by the researchers themselves

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Scientists have discovered the switch that melanoma uses to create its own blood vessels and at the same time block the immune cells that should destroy it.

Researchers discovered the protein that skin cancer uses as a switch to create blood vessels, feed itself, and simultaneously block the cells that should destroy it

How melanoma uses HOXD13 to hide and feed itself simultaneously

What happened when scientists turned off the melanoma switch

The new treatment strategy: attacking two targets with a single therapy

Why early melanoma detection is still the best defense

The limitations highlighted by the researchers themselves

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Egypt wants to draw 10 million cubic meters of water from the Nile per day into the desert, irrigate a new agricultural frontier, and build a city where there is currently only sand.

BRICS is preparing a payment system inspired by the Brazilian PIX that will allow direct transactions between countries using national digital currencies without relying on the dollar or Western banks as intermediaries.

Ethiopia has banned gasoline and diesel cars, placed over a hundred silent electric buses on the streets of Addis Ababa, and now aims for half a million electric vehicles by 2030, all powered by Africa’s largest dam and a courage that few countries have shown.

A view from space, an image made by NASA shows the impressive Richat Structure, a geological formation located in the Sahara Desert, also known as the “Eye of the Sahara.”

A brand that has been manufacturing motorcycles since 1901 launches its first electric model, and the price shocked the world: $3,000, weighing only 124 kg and accelerating from 0 to 60 km/h in 3.7 seconds…

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