Source: Medical Xpress, October 23, 2015
Type VII collagen is an important protein that helps hold the skin together. Patients with a severe skin condition known as recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB) have genetic mutations that lead to reductions in type VII collagen, causing blistering following minor trauma.
Young adults with RDEB go on to develop aggressive, squamous cell carcinoma, a type of skincancer which is fatal in two thirds by the age of 45.
The study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, now shows that in both RDEB scarred skin and RDEB tumours, type VII collagen is an important regulator of blood vessel formation – a major mechanism in tumour development.
This study is important for patients with RDEB as it suggests that using non-mutated type VII collagen as a treatment may reverse abnormal blood vesselformation, and potentially prevent tumour development.
Read the full article: Collagen’s role in skin cancer