News & Publications

Photo Source Robert Royer lost his year-long battle with Merkel cell carcinoma on April 17, 2019, in the setting of also having chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Mr. Royer was a passionate civic leader, serving as deputy mayor for the city of Seattle from 1978 to 1983. To read the Seattle Times...

On April 16th, Fred Hutch news shared the exciting announcement that  "A multidisciplinary team from University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has received a five-year, $12 million grant to study Merkel cell carcinoma, a deadly form of skin cancer. Dr. Paul Nghiem, a skin...

Objective: The objective of this study was to understand the travel burden of MCC patients. Methods: This study used data from an MCC registry at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA). All MCC patients enrolled at SCCA with a valid 3‐digit ZIP code were included. Patients were followed up from J...

On March 4th, 2019, Dr. Paul Nghiem received the Eugene J. Van Scott Award for Innovative Therapy and delivered the Philip Frost Leadership lecture in Washington, D.C. He discussed the need to prioritize treatment modalities that are less toxic and more effective for Merkel Cell Carcinoma (MCC). On...

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is an aggressive skin cancer that is caused by the Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV) in virus-positive MCC (VP-MCC) or by exposure to UV light in virus-negative MCC (VN-MCC). Studies have shown that the incidence of MCC is around ten times higher in immunosuppressed popula...

Upfront immunotherapy with pembrolizumab (Keytruda, Merck & Co) in patients with advanced Merkel cell carcinoma (aMCC) shows an improved overall survival and response rate when compared with historical controls, and has a generally manageable safety profile, according to new findings. The results ar...

On March 4th, 2019, Dr. Paul Nghiem presented at the annual American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) conference in Washington, DC on the need to prioritize treatment modalities that are less toxic and more effective for Merkel Cell Carcinoma (MCC). On noting that MCC cases have increased by 95% from 20...

The International Symposium on Merkel cell carcinoma is scheduled for October 21-22, 2019 at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida. Course Directors: Kenneth Y. Tsai MD, PhD and Vernon K. Sondak, MD Course Description: The International Symposium on Merkel cell carcinoma is a first-of-it...

Abstract Purpose: G100 is a toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) agonist that triggers innate and adaptive anti-tumor immune responses in preclinical models. This pilot study assessed the safety, efficacy, and immunologic activity of intratumoral (IT) administration of G100 in patients with Merkel cel...

Purpose: Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is an aggressive skin cancer often caused by the Merkel cell polyomavirus. Clinical trials of programmed cell death-1 pathway inhibitors for advanced MCC (aMCC) demonstrate increased progression-free survival (PFS) compared with historical chemotherapy data. Howe...