Merkel Cell Carcinoma News and Research

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Novel drug combination shows promise for treating advanced skin cancers in kidney transplant recipients

People who have had a kidney transplant are at high risk for developing skin cancers. New research directed by investigators from the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center is exploring the best combination of treatments to target skin cancers while preserving the transplanted organs.

28 Feb 2024

Immune checkpoint inhibitor target found to promote skin cancer growth

Programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) is an important target for immune checkpoint inhibitor therapies that block its signaling and boost T-cell activity. PD-1 inhibitors have been approved for treating various types of cancer.

19 Jan 2024

Study sheds light on how viruses override host cell's DNA replication machinery

University of Pittsburgh researchers have shown for the first time how Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCV), which causes an aggressive skin cancer called Merkel cell carcinoma, initiates DNA replication in host cells.

17 Jul 2023

Fred Hutch experts highlight research on cancer treatment advances, survivorship and precision oncology at ASCO

At the 2023 American Society for Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting—to be held June 2-6 in Chicago, Illinois—Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center experts will present research spanning survivorship, advances in treatments and clinical trials, how access to cancer care affects outcomes, integrative medicine and more.

5 Jun 2023

Researchers create first bona fide mouse model of Merkel cell carcinoma

A team of researchers at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center were the first to generate a bona fide mouse model of a Merkel cell carcinoma, a rare and potentially aggressive form of skin cancer.

15 Jun 2022

Merkel cell carcinoma has a higher post-treatment recurrence rate than other skin cancers

Patients treated for Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) face a five-year recurrence rate of 40%-;markedly higher than the recurrence rates for melanoma and other skin cancers, according to research published today in JAMA Dermatology.

23 Feb 2022

Direct-to-consumer machine learning model incorrectly classifies rare, aggressive skin cancers

A new study has found that a direct-to-consumer machine learning model for detecting skin cancers incorrectly classified rare and aggressive cancers as low-risk.

30 Sep 2021

Penn Medicine and Wistar secure $11.7 million SPORE grant for three melanoma research projects

Penn Medicine and The Wistar Institute have been awarded a prestigious $11.7 million Specialized Programs of Research Excellence, or SPORE, grant from the National Cancer Institute.

22 Sep 2021

Creating hair-bearing human skin becomes a reality

For more than 40 years, scientists and commercial companies have been recreating human skin in laboratories around the world. Yet all of these products lack important aspects of normal skin--hair, nerves, and fat.

5 Jun 2020

Patients with aggressive form of skin cancer can benefit from new type of immunotherapy

In what is believed to be a first-of-its-kind study to evaluate the safety of a type of immunotherapy before surgery in patients with an aggressive form of skin cancer, researchers report that the treatment eliminated pathologic evidence of cancer in nearly half of the study participants undergoing surgery.

27 Apr 2020

New study provides a better understanding of Merkel cell carcinoma

Merkel cell carcinoma is a rare and aggressive type of skin cancer. Also called neuroendocrine carcinoma of the skin, it is much less common than most other types of skin cancer. But, it’s one of the most dangerous types since it’s more likely to spread to the other parts of the body.

21 Aug 2019

Largest genomic analysis could help improve treatment for Merkel cell carcinoma patients

Merkel cell carcinoma is a rare, aggressive skin tumor that is diagnosed in approximately 2,000 people each year in the United States.

20 Aug 2019

Immunotherapy may be better than chemotherapy for Merkel cell carcinoma

The first study of the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab as the initial treatment for patients with a rare but aggressive form of skin cancer known as Merkel cell carcinoma reports better responses and longer survival than expected with conventional chemotherapy.

11 Feb 2019

Immunotherapy drug found to be effective in patients with advanced Merkel cell carcinoma

A multi-center phase II clinical trial investigating pembrolizumab as a first-line and programmed cell death-1 therapy in patients with advanced Merkel cell carcinoma reports lasting tumor control, generally manageable side effects and improved overall survival.

8 Feb 2019

Researchers analyze response to combination immunotherapy for patients with rare skin cancer

Harnessing the immune system to treat cancer shows great promise in some patients, but for many, the response does not last long-term.

24 Sep 2018

Research finds rising trend in incidence of merkel cell carcinoma

Merkel cell carcinoma is a rare type of skin cancer, affecting only a few thousand people each year, compared to tens of thousands with melanoma. But while it may not be as common as other skin cancers, MCC is highly aggressive and often deadly -; and it's also becoming more common, according to new research published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology and presented at the American Academy of Dermatology 2018 Annual Meeting in San Diego.

19 Feb 2018

Xstrahl receives FDA 510 (k) clearance for marketing its Photoelectric Therapy System

The Photoelectric Therapy System is a compact and ergonomic superficial X-Ray therapy system operating in the 10 kV to 80 kV range intended for superficial radiotherapy and surface electronic brachytherapy treatment of primary malignant epithelial neoplasms of the skin and keloids.

From Xstrahl 19 Oct 2017

First-ever treatment for Merkel cell carcinoma receives approval in Japan

Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, and Pfizer Inc. today announced that the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare (MHLW) has approved BAVENCIO (avelumab, genetically recombinant Injection 200mg/mL for intravenous use) as the first and only treatment indicated for curatively unresectable Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC), a rare and aggressive cancer, in Japan.

27 Sep 2017

Small clinical trial reveals promising results of triple immunotherapy in treating rare skin cancer

Three out of four patients treated with an experimental combination of three different therapies for the rare skin cancer known as Merkel cell carcinoma are in complete remission following the treatment, according to study results from a small clinical trial led at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

31 May 2017

U-M research reveals important clues about invasion of polyomaviruses

Every cell in our body runs like a tiny factory that makes specialized products, using the carefully guarded instructions kept in the CEO's office.

24 May 2017