News & Publications

On December 19, 2018, Merck (NYSE:MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved KEYTRUDA, Merck’s anti-PD-1 therapy, for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with recurrent locally advanced or metastatic Me...

On December 19, 2018, the Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval to pembrolizumab (KEYTRUDA, Merck & Co. Inc.) for adult and pediatric patients with recurrent locally advanced or metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC). Approval was based on Cancer Immunotherapy Trials Network prot...

The Advancements department at Fred Hutch Cancer Research Center produced a video that focuses on recent progress in 'skin cancer' (though MCC is not specifically mentioned, as it is meant to reflect cancer research more broadly). Kelly Paulson (who did her PhD on Merkel cell carcinoma at UW) is ...

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...

Background: Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is an aggressive skin cancer that frequently responds to anti-PD-1 therapy. MCC is associated with sun exposure and, in 80% of cases, Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV). MCPyVspecific T and B cell responses provide a unique opportunity to study cancer-specific i...

The promiscuous nature of T-cell receptors (TCRs) allows T cells to recognize a large variety of pathogens, but makes it challenging to understand and control T-cell recognition1. Existing technologies provide limited information about the key requirements for T-cell recognition and the ability of T...

Understanding how and why tumors become resistant to immunotherapy is one of the key obstacles in expanding the portion of patients who achieve a durable benefit from treatment. While some cancers show obvious mutations or genetic loss of antigen presentation, most cases of cancer relapse lack a cle...

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare and aggressive skin cancer associated with advanced age and immunosuppression. Over the past decade, an association has been discovered between MCC and either integration of the Merkel cell polyomavirus, which likely drives tumorigenesis, or somatic mutations ow...

Methods: Pretreatment FFPE tumor specimens (n = 26) were stained for CD8, PD-L1, and PD-1 by immunohistochemistry/immunofluorescence (IHC/IF), and the density and distribution of positive cells was quantified to determine the associations with anti-PD-1 response. Multiplex IF was used to test a ...

Understanding mechanisms of late/acquired cancer immunotherapy resistance is critical to improve outcomes; cellular immunotherapy trials offer a means to probe complex tumor–immune interfaces through defined T cell/antigen interactions. We treated two patients with metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma...