| Affiliation: | 1. Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York, USA;2. Thomas Jefferson University Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA;3. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, USA;4. Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA;5. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Harvard Cancer Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA;6. Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA;7. University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, USA;8. The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA;9. National Institute of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA;10. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, USA Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York, USA;11. Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA;12. University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA;13. Georgetown University/MedStar Health, Washington, DC, USA;14. Melanoma Research Foundation, CURE OM, Washington, DC, USA;15. University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA;16. Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Cleveland, Ohio, USA;17. Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China;18. Northwell Health Cancer Institute, New Hyde Park, New York, USA |
| Abstract: | Mucosal melanoma remains a rare cancer with high mortality and a paucity of therapeutic options. This is due in significant part to its low incidence leading to limited patient access to expert care and downstream clinical/basic science data for research interrogation. Clinical challenges such as delayed and at times inaccurate diagnoses, and lack of consensus tumor staging have added to the suboptimal outcomes for these patients. Clinical trials, while promising, have been difficult to activate and accrue. While individual institutions and investigators have attempted to seek solutions to such problems, international, national, and local partnership may provide the keys to more efficient and innovative paths forward. Furthermore, a mucosal melanoma coalition would provide a potential network for patients and caregivers to seek expert opinion and advice. The Melanoma Research Foundation Mucosal Melanoma Meeting (December 16, 2022, New York, USA) highlighted the current clinical challenges faced by patients, providers, and scientists, identified current and future clinical trial investigations in this rare disease space, and aimed to increase national and international collaboration among the mucosal melanoma community in an effort to improve patient outcomes. The included proceedings highlight the clinical challenges of mucosal melanoma, global clinical trial experience, basic science advances in mucosal melanoma, and future directions, including the creation of shared rare tumor registries and enhanced collaborations. |
