Category: Science
A Message from Our CEO on Rare Cancer Day
By Marc Hurlbert, PhD, MRA Chief Executive Officer | 30 September 2023 In Melanoma Stories, News, Science
Acral, mucosal, pediatric, and uveal melanomas – what we collectively call rare melanomas – represent an area of profound unmet medical need. Learn what MRA is doing to accelerate research focused on rare melanomas.
Dr. Hussein Tawbi: Opdualag Clinical Trial Updates
By Tanisha Jackson, PhD - MRA Scientific Program Director | 18 September 2023 In Allies & Partnerships, Events, News, Science, Treatment
In March of 2022, the melanoma community celebrated the FDA approval of nivolumab + relatlimab (brand name Opdualag), a new treatment for patients with metastatic melanoma that combines two different immunotherapies, nivolumab and relatlimab, into one medicine.
Combating Melanoma Brain Metastases and Leptomeningeal Disease
8 September 2023 In Allies & Partnerships, Events, Policy, Science, Treatment
Melanoma is the third most common source of brain metastases, exceeded only by lung and breast cancer. In addition, metastatic melanoma cells have the highest propensity for settling in the brain out of any solid tumor.
Living with Intention with Mucosal Melanoma: Eileen Walther’s Story
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 24 August 2023 In Allies & Partnerships, Melanoma Stories, Science
In 2018, it had been just over a year since Eileen Walther had been diagnosed with follicular lymphoma, a typically slow-growing form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma that affects white blood cells. After undergoing a chemotherapy regimen known as R-CHOP, she’d been declared cancer free and was ready to get back to...
MRA's Latest Research Report: Reaching for the Stars
25 July 2023 In Allies & Partnerships, Events, Melanoma Stories, News, Policy, Prevention, Science, Treatment
Each year, MRA convenes global thought leaders from across the melanoma research community to exchange ideas, report on scientific successes and challenges, and network and forge new collaborations.
Reflecting on a Decade of Progress and Future Heights in Melanoma
21 July 2023 In Allies & Partnerships, News, Science, Treatment
If you told Dr. Jedd Wolchok at the start of his oncology career what melanoma research would look like today, he likely wouldn’t believe you. Wolchok, now a world-renowned medical oncologist and Meyer Director of the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medicine, originally faced an alternate...
Melanoma Research Alliance Announces 2023 Dermatology Fellowship Award Recipients
20 July 2023 In News, Prevention, Science
The Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA), the largest non-profit funder of melanoma research, is proud to announce its 2023 Dermatology Fellowship Award recipients. MRA’s Dermatology Fellowship program is building a pipeline of scientists and clinicians who specialize in melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer and the fifth most common cancer in the United States.
How Genetics and Family History Contribute to Melanoma Risk
By Rachel Fischer, Ph.D., Associate Director, Scientific Program & Registry | 11 July 2023 In Science
If you have a family history of melanoma, you may be worried about how much genetics – traits passed down from biological parents to their children – contribute to your risk of developing melanoma, or other skin cancers.
MRA's RARE Registry for Acral & Mucosal Melanoma Surpasses 100-Patient Milestone
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 10 July 2023 In Melanoma Stories, News, Science
The Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA), the largest non-profit funder of melanoma research, today announced that the RARE Registry for acral and mucosal melanoma has officially surpassed 100 patients, making it the largest registry of its kind in the world and marking an important milestone in advancing cutting-edge research for these rare and difficult-to-treat melanoma subtypes.
How Biomarkers Are Used in Melanoma
29 June 2023 In Allies & Partnerships, Events, Prevention, Science, Treatment
The term “biomarker” is a frequent buzz word in cancer care circles, but many patients do not understand what a biomarker is and how they are used in the clinic. At the MRA 2022 Patient Forum, Dr. David Polsky of New York University took away much of the mystery surrounding biomarkers by deftly explaining what they are and how they enter the market, as well as by showing how physicians use biomarkers to guide therapy and predict outcomes in their patients.