A mushroom-derived compound shows promise in lab research for blocking melanoma growth

A compound isolated from an edible mushroom may hold the potential as an anti-cancer agent against melanoma, according to a poster presented at the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) 2026 annual meeting.

Melanoma is a type of skin cancer that starts in the melanocytes, the cells responsible for producing skin pigment. Approximately 112,000 new melanomas will be diagnosed in 2026, and about 8,510 people are expected to die of melanoma this year, according to the American Cancer Society. It’s one of the most common cancers in young adults, especially women. But the risk of melanoma increases as people age; the average age of people when it is diagnosed is 66.

Previous research has found that melanoma cancer cells have a defense against the high levels of oxidative stress in the bloodstream. Oxidative stress occurs when there are not enough antioxidants to eliminate free radicals. When oxidative stress occurs in cancer, it can help prevent metastasis. But melanoma has been able to escape the effects of oxidative stress.

Vialinin A, an antioxidant compound extracted from a Chinese edible mushroom species, has anti-inflammatory properties. Research has been conducted on the impact of vialinin A on ocular inflammation and on ischemic stroke. Although some Chinese mushrooms are hallucinogenic, the mushroom in which vialinin A is extracted is not.

Now researchers — Alexandria Vo, D.O.; Amber Zafar, M.D., and Kota V. Ramana, Ph.D., from the Department of Biomedical Sciences — at the Noorda College of Osteopathic Medicine in Provo, Utah, have presented a poster of the anticancer potential of vialinin A. Investigators used B16-F10 melanoma cell lines, a metastatic cell line from rodents, to evaluate vialinin A. They wanted to asses vialinin A’s ability to inhibit cancer growth, reduce cell viability, and block tumor invasion and migration. They used MTT assay, a method in cell biology to determine cell viability.

Investigators found that vialinin A suppresses melanoma cell growth. The compound was also tested in the presence of epidermal growth factor (EGF), an established driver of tumor proliferation and invasion. Even under EGF-stimulated conditions, vialinin A increased the proportion of melanoma cells that were killed, a finding visualized through live/dead cell fluorescence staining.

Additionally, researchers examined mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mtROS); excessive mtROS can cause damage to lipids, DNA and proteins. EGF treatment elevated mtROS levels in melanoma cells, consistent with oxidative-stress-driven cancer progression. Vialinin A blunted that effect while also boosting caspase-3 activity, which is a key marker of programmed cell death, or apoptosis.