News & Publications

The International Symposium on Merkel cell carcinoma is scheduled for October 21-22, 2019 at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida. Course Directors: Kenneth Y. Tsai MD, PhD and Vernon K. Sondak, MD Course Description: The International Symposium on Merkel cell carcinoma is a first-of-it...

American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting San Diego, CA Prepared by Drs. Song Park, Paul Nghiem, and Hannah Thomas Announcements: 1) If you are interested in presenting at next year’s MMIG meeting in Washington, D.C., on Friday March 1st, 2019 (5 – 7 pm), please send Paul an email ...

On December 19, 2018, Merck (NYSE:MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved KEYTRUDA, Merck’s anti-PD-1 therapy, for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with recurrent locally advanced or metastatic Me...

The Advancements department at Fred Hutch Cancer Research Center produced a video that focuses on recent progress in 'skin cancer' (though MCC is not specifically mentioned, as it is meant to reflect cancer research more broadly). Kelly Paulson (who did her PhD on Merkel cell carcinoma at UW) is ...

Dear friends of Merkel cell carcinoma research, During this time of giving and celebrations, I want to let you know how appreciative our Merkel Team is of your support.  This year was one of many exciting milestones that I am thrilled to share with you.   We have written an annual update lette...

Understanding how and why tumors become resistant to immunotherapy is one of the key obstacles in expanding the portion of patients who achieve a durable benefit from treatment. While some cancers show obvious mutations or genetic loss of antigen presentation, most cases of cancer relapse lack a cle...

The 2018 Annual ASCO meeting was held in Chicago, IL between June 1 - 5th. The Annual Meeting brings together oncology professionals from around the world to discuss state-of-the-art treatment modalities, new therapies, and ongoing controversies in the field. Dr. Paul Nghiem presented on the, "Tw...

On June 13, 2018, Rebecca Voelker, of JAMA Medical News and Perspectives, published an article discussing the rise in interest and incidence of Merkel cell carcinoma. Physicians including Dr. Michael Hori, and Dr. Paul emphasize the importance of receiving appropriate care during diagnostic workup....

Before 2016, patients with advanced Merkel cell carcinoma — a rare and extremely deadly skin cancer — had no good treatment options to extend their lives more than a few months. Then, with two pivotal trials, everything changed. On Monday, investigators presented new, long-term data from these t...

On February 16, 2018, UW Medicine released an article on the projected increase for cases of Merkel cell carcinoma in the United States. This rare, aggressive cancer is rising nearly six times faster than other cancers. Current studies show that the incidence is expected to exceed 3,025 cases by 202...