University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI)

Overview

The two major goals of the Melanoma Program are: (1) the development and implementation of novel therapies for patients with resectable, localized stage I-II and regionally metastatic stage III melanoma at increased risk of relapse, and for inoperable distant metastatic stage IV melanoma, and (2) to gain important insights into molecular events that govern the biology and progression of melanoma, and the host immune response to melanoma. Given these overall objectives, the specific areas of research of the Melanoma Program are:

• Unraveling the molecular events leading to progression of melanoma, using high-throughput approaches, and identifying genes and proteins that are valid targets for small molecule-based therapies
• Defining new antigens and peptide epitopes as targets for immunotherapy
• Reversing host immunosuppression that accompanies melanoma progression
• Overcoming melanoma drug resistance

The Melanoma Program is a nexus of local and regional scientific interaction with other programs of the UPCI, and it serves as a national and international center for melanoma investigations in the cooperative groups and the international research community. In addition to its scientific objectives, the Melanoma Program trains young investigators in the areas of melanoma biology, immunology, and important translational investigations of this malignancy. The Melanoma Program is supported by multiple extramural awards, including a recently awarded NCI Skin Cancer SPORE grant.