Major Accomplishments

• NYU Cancer Institute investigators published a formal recommendation to expand the ABCDs of melanoma to include an "E" criterion for "Evolution," supporting the concept of lesion change in the diagnosis of cutaneous melanoma (JAMA, 2004). Their work also validated the "diameter greater than 6 mm" measurement as a reasonable component of the ABCD acronym, a measurement which had become controversial in recent the years. 
• The NYU School of Medicine is a major participant in the MultiCenter Selective Lymphadenectomy Trial group. This group recently reported that sentinel node biopsy provides important prognostic information in the staging of intermediate-thickness (1.2 to 3.5 mm) primary melanomas, and identifies patients with nodal metastases whose survival can be prolonged by immediate lymphadenectomy (NEJM, 2006). 
• Our researchers published several studies examining potential new prognostic markers for melanoma, including Ki67 and HDM2. 
• NYUCI scientists have reported on the clinical relevance of PTEN expression, proliferation, and resistance to apoptosis in primary melanoma patients with extended follow-up. 
• Our researchers were among the earliest investigators to report on analyses of BRAF and N-RAS mutations in metastatic melanoma tumor specimens and melanoma cell lines. 
• NYUCI investigators evaluated the regulation of angiogenesis, tumor growth, and metastasis by integrin-mediated cellular communication with the extracellular matrix (ECM). An Investigational New Drug application has been filed with the FDA to evaluate the effects of D93, a humanized monoclonal antibody directed to the HU177 cryptic collagen epitope, for a Phase 1 clinical trial. 
• We analyzed the genetic and epigenetic mechanisms of p16 INK4a and p14 ARF inactivation in primary and metastatic melanoma, since p16 INK4a has been established. Scientists evaluated clinically significant pathways by which human dendritic cells acquire and present cell-associated and particulate antigens to T cells through the "cross-presentation" pathway (Blood, 2003). 
• Our researchers spearheaded the construction of the NYU Cancer Institute Vaccine Center and established an Immunotherapy Program in Melanoma. They have modified and developed standard operating procedures to prepare human dendritic cells for immunotherapeutic purposes (O'Neill, Methods in Molecular Medicine, 2005; Current Protocols in Immunology, 2005).  Our scientists have overseen the production of more than 150 vaccines in this facility, including cell-based vaccines. The immune monitoring laboratory uses state-of-the-art techniques to analyze blood samples from patients enrolled in immunotherapy trials, and thus far has validated and executed more than 400 assays. 
• We showed that TLR7 (Imiquimod) or TLR9 (GpG) agonists induce T-cell immunity to melanoma-associated antigens (NY-ESO-1) in subjects with melanoma (submitted for publication).