Skin Cancer (Melanoma)

• Melanoma starts in melanocytes, the cells that give skin its color. Malignant melanoma usually begins with an abnormal mole but can also start in other pigmented tissues, such as the eyes or intestines.

• Melanoma ranks as the deadliest form of skin cancer, although it is also the least common. Men are at a higher risk for melanoma than women.

Detecting a cause of Merkel cell carcinoma – Drs. Denise Galloway and Paul Nghiem developed a blood test to detect the presence of the Merkel cell polyomavirus, the virus that can cause an aggressive form of skin cancer known as Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC). Galloway and Nghiem determined the virus is extremely common in the general population, but only becomes MCC in a minority of people. Subsequent research identified polyomavirus protein fragments that can be recognized by the body’s own disease-fighting T cells and that those T cells can be used to kills MCC cells containing the same protein fragment.   

Eradicating melanoma – A team led of Fred Hutch researchers reported that a patients' own tumor-fighting cells wiped out out his melanoma without chemotherapy or radiation treatment. If the technique—known as adoptive T-cell therapy—shows promise in a larger set of patients, this therapy could be used for 25 percent of all late-stage melanoma patients. Learn more »

Halting or reducing melanoma tumors – Fred Hutch researchers reported a halt or reduction in growth of melanoma tumors after injecting patients with laboratory-grown copies of different type of T-cell, called CD8+, and a chemical called IL-2 that causes T-cells to replicate.

Attacking cancer cells – A team of researchers has opened the door to new treatment possibilities for melanoma, along with other diseases, such as breast and ovarian cancers. In the laboratory, they have discovered a method for coaxing an important component of the body's immune system to attack cancer cells. Learn more »

Novel immunotherapy for Merkel cell carcinoma – Using research from Hutchinson Center colleagues, our immunotherapy experts initiated the world’s first T-cell therapy designed to target a portion of the Merkel cell polyomavirus responsible for the development of Merkel cell carcinoma. Using an advanced cell sorter provided by private support, researchers isolated T-cells that recognized the target oncogenic protein fragment and grew large numbers of them in a lab. Those MCC fighting T cells were infused in a patient in October of 2011 with encouraging results and  a clinical trial to treat more patients is now underway.

Activating T-cells – To improve the effectiveness of T-cell immunotherapy, researchers are attempting to lower the threshold of activation of T-cells to enhance their ability to seek out, recognize and kill cancer cells. Dr. Phillip Greenberg and colleagues are addressing this by partnering T-cells with therapeutic antibodies in an active clinical trial enrolling participants with advanced melanoma. Results to date are promising with stabilization/regression of bulky disease.