Author Interviews, Melanoma, NYU/NYMC / 20.02.2026
Melanoma: NYU Study Outlines Mechanisms Tumors Use to Sustain Blood Supply and Escape Immune Detection
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Dr. Berico[/caption]
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Pietro Berico, M.Sc., Ph.D.
Postdoctoral research fellow
Hernando Lab
NYU Grossman School of Medicine
NYU Langone Health
New York, NY 1001
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: “Cutaneous melanoma arises under chronic UV irradiation, which selects for aggressive malignant clones. Paradoxically, its high mutational burden also promotes neoantigen formation and robust immune activation. Consequently, melanoma must establish immune evasion mechanisms from the earliest stages of tumor development. The lack of specific genetic mutational patterns linked to immune escape points toward non-mutational mechanisms, such as epigenetic reprogramming.
Dr. Berico[/caption]
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Pietro Berico, M.Sc., Ph.D.
Postdoctoral research fellow
Hernando Lab
NYU Grossman School of Medicine
NYU Langone Health
New York, NY 1001
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: “Cutaneous melanoma arises under chronic UV irradiation, which selects for aggressive malignant clones. Paradoxically, its high mutational burden also promotes neoantigen formation and robust immune activation. Consequently, melanoma must establish immune evasion mechanisms from the earliest stages of tumor development. The lack of specific genetic mutational patterns linked to immune escape points toward non-mutational mechanisms, such as epigenetic reprogramming.
Dr. Stone[/caption]
Co-author Meredith Stone, PhD
Assistant Director for Cell Therapy Translation
in Dr. Davila’s lab at Roswell Park - presenting author
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: While CD19-targeted CAR T cell therapy has garnered clinical success and FDA approval for the treatment of large B cell lymphoma, approximately half of patients suffer from primary resistance or relapse. Increasing evidence suggests that resistance mechanisms are supported by the tumor microenvironment (TME). Cytokines secreted by CAR T cells can remodel the TME, determining the phenotype and function of other immune cells.
Dr. Serena Guo[/caption]
Serena Jingchuan Guo, MD PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy
University of Florida College of Pharmacy
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Dr. Hao Dai[/caption]
Hao Dai, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
Department of Biostatistics & Health Data Science
Indiana University School of Medicine
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Obesity and type 2 diabetes are both known to increase the risk of several cancers. Glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) have become very popular for both glycemic control and weight loss, but their long-term effects on cancer risk are still unclear. Using a large real-world dataset, we emulated a target trial comparing more than 43,000 GLP-1RA users to matched non-users.
We found that GLP-1RA use was associated with a significantly lower overall cancer risk.
Dr. Jiyoung Ahn[/caption]
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Jiyoung Ahn, PhD
Dr. Campanella[/caption]
Gabriele Campanella, PhD
Assistant Professor
Windreich Department of Artificial Intelligence and Human Health
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Lung cancer is the most lethal cancer in the US. Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is the most common form of lung cancer with an incidence of over 100k per year in the US. EGFR mutations are common driver mutations in LUAD, and importantly, these mutations can be targeted by TKI therapy, which has high response rates. Because of this, EGFR testing via NGS (Next Generation Sequencing) is considered mandatory by guidelines for any LUAD diagnosis.
In high-resource settings, rapid EGFR testing is done while waiting for confirmation via NGS. This is because NGS takes about 2 weeks on average, while the rapid testing has a median TAT of 2 days. Early treatment decisions could be made based on the rapid test results. Rapid tests have some important drawbacks, most notably, it exhausts tissue. In lung cancer, tissue is scarce in the first place, and up to 25% of cases, after rapid testing there is not enough tissue for NGS. In those circumstances, patients have to be biopsied again, which adds unnecessary risk for the patient. Even worse, in some cases, the NGS is never done. A non-tissue-exhaustive computational biomarker could be used instead of the tissue-based rapid test.
Dr. Lopes[/caption]
Gilberto Lopes, M.D.
Professor, Chief, Division of Medical Oncology
Associate Director for the Cancer Center and
Medical Director for International Affairs
Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: There is growing evidence linking alcohol consumption to increased cancer risk and mortality. This association was recently emphasized by the former U.S. Surgeon General, prompting renewed public health interest. In response to these concerns, under the mentorship of Dr. Lopes, we evaluated national trends in alcohol-associated cancer mortality using data from the Global Burden of Disease database.
