News & Publications

The MMIG (Merkel cell carcinoma Multicenter Interest Group) had its third annual meeting in San Antonio, TX, at the American Academy of Dermatology.

First fresh tumor donated via the internet to our research! We received the first tissue donation from a patient whose surgery was not done in Seattle. By coordinating with the patient, his wife and his surgeon (and FedEx), we successfully obtained tissue. This resource is invaluable for our researc...

Information on Complementary & Alternative approaches to treating MCC, exercise and maximizing fruit and vegetable intake are added to the "Treatment" section of our website.

The Nghiem lab has just been granted permission to interact with patient throughout the US who have MCC. In Phase 1 of this study, we would like to contact patients who plan to have surgery to removed MCC tumor tissue (primary or metastatic).

A patient of Dr. Nghiem's creates a temporary tattoo to help raise awareness for MCC.

Dr. Nghiem has been awarded a grant to improve MCC education for patients and physicians by the American Cancer Society - Jerry Wachter Fund. Jerry Wachter was the team photographer for the Baltimore Orioles and passed away this year from MCC. His family and friends created a fund in his honor to in...

Dear Colleagues: For those of you who could not attend, we had a very interesting and lively discussion on Friday evening, February 2, in Washington DC, for our second annual MMIG meeting. What follows is a brief summary of the presentations and discussion. Dr. Siegrid Yu, co-organizer of the me...

Dana Whatley sold a 1964 Fender Stratocaster guitar on ebay for $30,299, in memory of her husband. She is donating 50% of the proceeds to our Merkel cell carcinoma Research Program. We thank Dana for this extraodinarily generous donation.

Drs. Nghiem and Lemos receive a pilot grant from the Skin Cancer Foundation. The funds will be used to collect MCC tumor samples and develop cell lines from these tumor samples for future molecular studies.

Drs. Heath and Lemos join the lab. Dr. Michelle Heath is a Dermatology Resident who will focus on the MCC patient database. Dr. Bianca Lemos is a Research Fellow who will assist with both the database and continuation of the genetic analysis of MCC.