Category: Treatment
Older Patients Do Better on Immunotherapy
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 8 October 2018 In Science, Treatment
In Dr. Weeraratna's study, older patients did better on immunotherapy than younger patients. This surprising result is the opposite of what was expected.
Right Place, Right Time, Right Trial
10 September 2018 In Melanoma Stories, Treatment
Jonathan is cancer free because he was in the right place at the right time to be enrolled in a clinical trial. Read his story.
Maintaining the Pace of Melanoma Innovation in the Era of an Evolving Standard of Care
10 August 2018 In Science, Treatment
There is no doubt that treatments for metastatic melanoma have changed dramatically in the decade since MRA’s founding in 2007. How do we keep up the momentum?
Wiser & Stronger – Life after Metastatic Melanoma
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 20 July 2018 In Melanoma Stories, Treatment
For Derrick, it all started with headaches. For the first time in his life, this otherwise perfectly healthy father of two, knew something was wrong.
Uveal ‘Clusters’ in Auburn, AL and Huntersville, NC
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 18 July 2018 In Allies & Partnerships, Melanoma Stories, News, Science, Treatment
When we talk about melanoma, it’s easy to forget that cutaneous – the most common variety that forms on the skin – isn’t the only game in town. Uveal represents about 5% of all melanomas diagnosed each year. So, when dozens of people from two towns in North Carolina and Alabama were diagnosed with the rare cancer alarm bells sounded.
Making the Most Out of Immunotherapy
11 June 2018 In Science, Treatment
Learn what MRA-funded investigators are doing to optimize immunotherapy for patients.
We’ve Teamed Up with the American Cancer Society
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 7 June 2018 In Allies & Partnerships, Science, Treatment
American Cancer Society and Melanoma Research Alliance have united to fund lifesaving research aimed at reducing side effects and improving outcomes for patients treated with immunotherapy.
Tackling Brain Metastases
30 April 2018 In Science, Treatment
Brain metastases (mets) are a frequent and often deadly problem in patients with advanced melanoma. Nearly 40% of patients with metastatic melanoma have brain mets at diagnosis, with an average survival of only 4 months, suggesting a crucial need for treatments that can rid the brain of these tumors1,2. But new cancer treatments are rarely tested in patients with active brain mets. This is largely due to concerns about whether these patients will have side effects unique to brain mets, and poorer outcomes that may negatively weigh against otherwise positive clinical benefits. Another potential concern is whether the drugs will even penetrate the brain, which has a fortress-like ability to keep substances from entering it.
Immunotherapy & Chemotherapy – Two Different Approaches
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 21 March 2018 In Science, Treatment
We’ve all seen the movie where the heroic cancer patient bravely moves through treatment as she deals with nausea, hair loss, and other side effects. For many cancer patients this picture is true, however imprecise. Hollywood has conditioned us to equate cancer treatment with chemotherapy. Twenty years ago this narrative was more or less accurate, but in a world where immunotherapies and other new treatments are increasingly being used, this narrative isn’t keeping up with today’s reality. For some people with melanoma, this stuck-in-the-past narrative may even be deadly.
What’s Next in Melanoma Treatment?
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 20 March 2018 In Science, Treatment
Dr. Douglas Johnson, MRA Young Investigator awardee and Assistant Professor of Medicine and Melanoma Clinical Director at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, outlines three broad areas of current and future melanoma research.