FAK to the Rescue: Activated Stroma Promotes a Safe Haven'' for BRAF-Mutant Melanoma Cells by Inducing FAK Signaling

Perhaps the most pressing need in cancer therapeutics is to understand drug resistance. In this issue of Cancer Cell, Hirata and colleagues show that melanoma-associated fibroblasts can drive resistance to the BRAF inhibitor PLX4720 by stimulating matrix production/remodeling, and, consequently, survival signaling in melanoma cells via beta 1-integrin, Src, and FAK.