News & Publications

PURPOSE: Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare, aggressive skin cancer commonly driven by the Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV). The programmed death-1 (PD-1)/programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) immunosuppressive pathway is often upregulated in MCC, and advanced metastatic MCC frequently responds to PD...

Background: Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is an aggressive, high-grade, cutaneous neuroendocrine tumour (NET). Agents blocking programmed death 1/programmed death ligand 1 have efficacy in metastatic MCC (mMCC), but half of patients do not derive durable benefit. Somatostatin analogues (SSAs) are comm...

Dear Colleagues, Following cancellation of the AAD meeting in Denver, we initially planned to proceed with a virtual (Zoom-based) meeting for our Merkel interest group. We had 5 very interesting talks lined up & all speakers were available. Given the urgency of COVID-19-associated event...

Great strides have been made in cancer immunotherapy including the breakthrough successes of anti‐PD‐(L)1 checkpoint inhibitors. In Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC), a rare and aggressive skin cancer, PD‐(L)1 blockade is highly effective. Yet, ~50% of patients either do not respond to therapy or de...

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is not a common skin cancer, but it is a very dangerous one. The number of cases has increased dramatically in the past decade. Luckily, knowledge and treatment options have surged, too. Paul Nghiem, MD, PhD, director of the Skin Oncology Clinical Program at the Seattle C...

Purpose: IL12 promotes adaptive type I immunity and has demonstrated antitumor efficacy, but systemic administration leads to severe adverse events (AE), including death. This pilot trial investigated safety, efficacy, and immunologic activity of intratumoral delivery of IL12 plasmid DNA (tavo) via ...

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Approximately one-third of Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) patients eventually develop distant metastatic disease. Little is known about whether the location of the primary lesion is predictive of initial distant metastatic site, or if survival likelihood differs depending on the metastatic site. Such d...

Dear friends of Merkel cell carcinoma research, During this time of giving and celebrations, I want to let you know how appreciative our Merkel Team is of your support.  This year was one of many exciting milestones that I am thrilled to share with you.   We have written an annual update lette...

A study with the longest follow-up of immunotherapy as the first line treatment for patients with advanced MCC has showed improved overall survival and response rate compared to controls. The study included 50 treatment naïve adults with advanced MCC who received a median of 10.5 doses of pembroliz...