The MAPK pathway regulates melanocyte proliferation downstream of agonists such as basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), epidermal growth factor (EGF), hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and stem cell factor (SCF).
The recent discovery in melanoma of frequent mutations in the MAPK pathway represents a major breakthrough in the genetics of this cancer and brings great hope for its treatment as detailed above.
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