A VA research team in Madison, Wisconsin, has identified a protein that plays a central role in driving melanoma growth, finding that genetically silencing it dramatically slows how quickly the cancer spreads and survives. The findings, published in the journal Cancers in February 2026, open a potentially new treatment pathway for one of the most aggressive and treatment-resistant forms of skin cancer — and one that carries specific relevance for veterans.
Melanoma is a presumptive condition under the PACT Act for veterans with qualifying toxic exposure during military service. That means the VA assumes the cancer is connected to service, which simplifies the disability claims process — but it does not change the fact that melanoma is difficult to treat, particularly when the cancer has spread or developed resistance to current therapies. Better treatment options directly serve the veteran population carrying this diagnosis.
What the Research Found
Researchers at the William S. Middleton VA Medical Center in Madison and the Medical College of Wisconsin led the study. Their focus was a protein called SIRT6, a member of the sirtuin family of enzymes that regulates DNA repair, cell metabolism and chromatin structure. Previous research from the same team had already established that SIRT6 is found at abnormally high levels in melanoma cells compared to healthy skin cells — suggesting it plays a meaningful role in how the cancer behaves.
The new study used two genetic techniques — CRISPR/Cas9 editing and a method called short hairpin RNA interference — to knock down SIRT6 expression in human melanoma cell lines…