Ophthalmologist J. William Harbour, MD, has identified a new genetic marker for determining the virulence of ocular melanomas, according to a news release.
The study, "Recurrent mutations at codon 625 of the splicing factor SF3B1 in uveal melanoma," was published online in the journal Nature Genetics.
Dr. Harbour is a researcher at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, which serves as the department of ophthalmology for the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
"Our research team discovered that the RNA splicing factor SF3B1 is mutated at a very specific location in some ocular melanomas, and this mutation indicates the likelihood that an ocular melanoma will metastasize and spread to other parts of the body, a far more deadly condition than when the cancer cells remain localized in the eye," said Dr. Harbour, professor of ophthalmology, vice chairman for translational research at Bascom Palmer and director of the ocular oncology service, in the release.
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