Category: Science
Preventing Melanomas Before they Happen in Oregon Schools
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 22 June 2022 In Prevention, Science
Dr. Haag and his team had an ambitious goal: they wanted the melanoma prevention and early detection curriculum taught in every high school throughout the state of Oregon. Their curriculum has now been taught to 10,653 students across 79 high schools throughout Oregon.
What Melanoma Patients Need to Know about Opdualag
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 23 May 2022 In Science, Treatment
You may have heard of Opdualag, a new therapy that recently earned FDA approval for advanced melanoma. Opdualag, which combines two different immunotherapies into one medicine, is earning attention as an effective – and more easily tolerated – combination therapy.
MRA Announces $13 Million in Grants to Advance Melanoma Prevention, Detection & Treatment
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 19 May 2022 In News, Prevention, Science, Treatment
Coinciding with Melanoma Awareness Month, the Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA), the largest non-profit funder of melanoma research, today announced funding for 27 research grants totaling $13,046,774 to support new research aimed at advancing melanoma prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
What You Control: Your Microbiome, Diet, Stress, & Melanoma
14 April 2022 In Science
Every day, we hear from patients who want to know what, if anything, they can do to have the best health outcomes possible. For people facing melanoma, it’s common to feel overwhelmed and out of control with everything that a melanoma diagnosis and treatment entail. Yet, how one faces those challenges, can make a big difference. MRA-funded investigator Lorenzo Cohen, PhD is working hard to help patients understand the pivotal role of the microbiome, diet, stress — and their melanoma — on treatment outcomes.
Unlocking the Potential of Localized Treatments By Better Understanding Treatment Response
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 23 March 2022 In News, Science, Treatment
It’s easy to think of melanoma – or any cancer – in black and white terms. You have it or you don’t, it responds or it’s resistant to treatment, or it grows or it shrinks. However, like most things, the reality is far more complex.
MRA Applauds Approval of Relatlimab + Nivolumab for the Treatment of Advanced Melanoma
18 March 2022 In News, Science, Treatment
The Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA) welcomed the news today that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Opdualag™, Bristol-Myers Squibb’s new combination immunotherapy for the treatment of advanced melanoma.
Recordings from MRA's 2022 Patient Forum
16 March 2022 In Allies & Partnerships, Events, Melanoma Stories, News, Policy, Prevention, Science, Treatment
MRA’s Melanoma Exchange Patient Forum, held in-person in Washington DC and virtually on March 9, 2022, brought together hundreds of melanoma patients, survivors, advocates, and their loved ones to provide lay-friendly, state-of-the-science education, promote collaboration, and provided networking opportunities across the melanoma community.
Testing AI in the Melanoma: From Promise to Action
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 8 March 2022 In Prevention, Science
If you browse through your phone’s app store, you’ll find dozens of apps promising to help determine if a mole you’ve been staring at is cancerous or not based on the power of AI. While a great goal, none of these apps have earned approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). However, to do so, apps — and the algorithms that they rely on — will need to be rigorously tested in the real world and across diverse populations. This is exactly where Dr. Novoa’s research is aimed.
Preventing Melanoma Among Hispanic Americans
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 22 February 2022 In Melanoma Stories, Prevention, Science
Dr. Costello’s online platform aims to teach participants about the risk factors for melanoma, what it looks like, and how they can screen themselves for concerning lesions. Costello’s program launched in February, 2022; and he hopes to get 30,000 people to participate in the 40-minute curriculum by the end of May 2022.
New Research Says Immunotherapy Should be First-Line Therapy for Patients with BRAF-Mutant Melanoma
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 2 February 2022 In News, Science, Treatment
While all patients with advanced melanoma can be treated with checkpoint immunotherapies, patients with tumors containing the BRAF mutation can also be treated with targeted therapies. However, until now, doctors have had little prospective data to determine which treatment approach should be started first. A new study led by Dr. Michael Atkins provides practice-changing insight.