Category: Treatment
Promising Uveal Melanoma Research Advances
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 26 October 2021 In News, Science, Treatment
Uveal melanoma, often called ocular melanoma or just eye melanoma, is a rare melanoma subtype that affects about 2,500 people each year in the United States. As is true with other rare subtypes, we know far less about what causes uveal melanoma, how it progresses, and how it can be...
Challenge Accepted: MRA 2020 - 2021 Annual Report
19 October 2021 In Allies & Partnerships, Melanoma Stories, News, Policy, Prevention, Science, Treatment
This was a year like no other. COVID-19 presented new challenges that required new ways of thinking. At MRA, confronting challenges is part of our DNA. We never stop challenging ourselves, no matter the odds or obstacles, in pursuit of conquering melanoma and saving lives.
The Next Frontier of Combination Immunotherapy: Maximizing the Benefits & Reducing Harms
15 September 2021 In Science, Treatment
Every general knows that the best way to successfully win a war is to deploy multiple weapons with different targets. This strategy was first used in cancer to conquer childhood leukemias with combination chemotherapy and now is being put to the test in melanoma by combining multiple checkpoint inhibitors, as...
Practical Recommendations for Surviving and Thriving Despite Melanoma
4 August 2021 In Treatment
Most experts, including the National Cancer Institute, say that a person becomes a survivor from the moment they learn of their cancer diagnosis – for the rest of their life. Get practical tips and strategies to live well with melanoma based on an expert panel conversation, led by Dr. Sapna Patel of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
Full Sails Ahead: Immunotherapy Shows Continued Survival Benefit for Patients Facing Advanced Melanoma
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 28 July 2021 In News, Science, Treatment
After carefully following patients enrolled in Checkmate 067 over the last 6.5 years, he and the research team determined that 49% of patients treated with Opdivo + Yervoy were alive at 6.5 years and 77% of these patients remained treatment-free. This represents the longest reported median overall survival in a phase 3 melanoma clinical trial – ever.
Biomarkers: What They Are, Why They Matter, and Where They are Going
22 July 2021 In Allies & Partnerships, Science, Treatment
The melanoma treatment field has been rewarded recently with an abundance of riches. But all these exciting new treatment options for patients can also create complexity and confusion. Fortunately, help is on the way in the form of biomarkers — molecular or cellular indicators for whether a patient is likely to respond or is currently responding to their therapy, or whether they are likely to have a recurrence of their cancer.
2021 AACR and ASCO Melanoma Highlights
By Marc Hurlbert, PhD, MRA Chief Executive Officer | 29 June 2021 In News, Science, Treatment
Over the last few months, thousands of scientists and physicians from around the globe gathered virtually for two of the largest cancer research conferences – AACR and ASCO. Melanoma research advances were showcased at both events and it’s an exciting time with numerous presentations of clinical trials for new melanoma treatments. Here we highlight some of the most exciting results from both conferences.
New Immunotherapy Drugs Targeting LAG-3 Show Great Promise
By Kristen Mueller, PhD | 23 June 2021 In News, Science, Treatment
Researchers presented a series of highly encouraging clinical trial results at the recent American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting that suggest that new drugs targeting the protein LAG-3 – developed by BMS and Regeneron – may be an important addition to the current treatment arsenal.
Averting and Treating Immune-related Adverse Events Associated with Checkpoint Immunotherapies
14 June 2021 In Science, Treatment
Checkpoint inhibitors are therapies that empower the immune system to kill cancer cells. However, sometimes immune-related adverse events (irAE) can also occur as a result. To help overcome this challenge, MRA has issued a number of research grants, including some in partnership with the American Cancer Society (ACS) and the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC), to support an array of approaches.
Advancing Melanoma Research in Times of Uncertainty
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 9 June 2021 In Allies & Partnerships, Melanoma Stories, Policy, Prevention, Science, Treatment
Each year, the annual MRA Scientific Retreat brings hundreds of people from across the melanoma research ecosystem together to exchange ideas, report on scientific progress, celebrate achievements, and mourn the losses. In these ways, the 2021 Retreat was no different.