CP Skin Cancer
Summary
The NCT Skin Cancer Program focusses on patients with metastasized skin cancer, mainly melanoma but also squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, Merkel cell carcinoma and other rarer entities. Each year about 300 newly diagnosed and more than 2000 follow-up patients with melanoma are seen, in addition more than 2400 patients with newly diagnosed epithelial cancer and about 70 with rarer skin cancers. The clinical trials program ranges from phase I to IV and offers promising new treatments to our patients – being an internationally renowned clinical trial center. Own investigator initiated trials are developed (TaMe, IRINA, Sportivumab, PEF-Immun). Clinical treatment is accompanied by a routinely done biobanking with the aim to perform translational research. Key questions to be answered are mechanisms of response and resistance to immunotherapy as well as biomarkers for the development of severe or rare adverse events. Here, collaborations with groups of the DKFZ, other NCT-partners e.g. in Dresden as well as through the DKTK and Krebshilfe consortium are active.
CP Coordinator
| Title & Name | Institute | Department |
| Internal members | ||
| Prof. Jessica Hassel | Dermatology / NCT | Section DermatoOncology |
| Dr. Sophia Strobel | Dermatology / NCT | Section DermatoOncology |
| Dr. Timo Schank | Dermatology / NCT | Section DermatoOncology |
| Dr. Katharina Kähler | Dermatology / NCT | Section DermatoOncology |
| Silvia Körner | Dermatology / NCT | Section DermatoOncology |
| Melanie Leierer | Dermatology / NCT | Section DermatoOncology |
| Angela Klein | Dermatology / NCT | Section DermatoOncology |
| Emine Inan | Dermatology / NCT | Section DermatoOncology |
| Dr. Carsten Schulz | Dermatology / NCT | Section DermatoOncology |
| Lisa Brauch | Dermatology / NCT | Section DermatoOncology |
| Jasmin Roth | Dermatology / NCT | Section DermatoOncology |
| Devajani Machirayu | Dermatology / NCT | Section DermatoOncology |
| Melanie Wiecken | Dermatology / NCT | Section DermatoOncology |
| Helga Schüren-Münch | Dermatology / NCT | Section DermatoOncology |
| Maria Mateovic | Dermatology / NCT | Section DermatoOncology |
| Viola Fieber | Dermatology / NCT | Section DermatoOncology |
| Rotating residents from Dep. of Dermatology | Dermatology | Section DermatoOncology |
| Partners | ||
| Dr. Isabel Poschke | DKFZ | Immunomonitoring Core Facility |
| Prof. Dirk Jäger | NCT | Medical Oncology |
| Ingeborg Rötzer | NCT | Nutrition therapy |
| Prof. Amir Abdollahi | DKFZ | CCU Radiation Oncology |
| Dr. Kristin Lang | UKHD | Radiation Oncology |
| Prof. Rienk Offringa | DKFZ | Molecular Oncology of Gastrointestinal Tumors |
| Prof. Stefan Eichmüller | DKFZ | GMP & T Cell Therapy |
| Prof. Walter Haefeli | UKHD | KliPS |
| Prof. Peter Dreger | UKHD | Hematology |
| Prof. Joachim Wiskemann | NCT | Medical Oncology, Exercise |
| Prof. Christiane Bieber | UKHD | Psychosomatics |
| Prof. Karin Jordan | UKHD | Hematology |
| Dr. Berit Jordan | UKHD | Neurology |
| Prof. Antonia Dimitrakopoulou-Strauss | DKFZ | CCU nuclear medicine |
All efforts of the CP Skin Cancer are patient-focused with the aim to optimize patients’ treatment and oncologic outcome. Translational research is driven by clinical questions on:
- Characterization of treatment response and resistance to immunotherapy
- Mechanisms/biomarkers for the development of immune-related adverse events
- Investigator-initiated trials to increase treatment efficacy (IRINA, Mel-TIL), treatment tolerability (Sportivumab) and satisfaction with treatment decision making (PEF-Immun)
- International multi-center trials phase I to IV to offer promising new treatments to patients before approval
- Multidisciplinary patient management
- Clinical trials from phase I to IV for patients with metastasized melanoma, merkel cell carcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma (Robert et al, JCO 2020; Sahin et al, Nature 2020; Zimmer et al, Lancet 2020)
- Investigator-initiated trials on melanoma treatment (TaMe; Hassel et al, Oncoimmunology 2017)
- Jessica C. Hassel leads the task force immunooncology of the Krebshilfe, the DeCOG (ADO) committee on adverse events, and is part of the faculty of ESMO (Tumour Immunology and Immunotherapy; Investigational Immunotherapy). She participates in the S3 guidelines on melanoma as well as supportive therapy.
- Investigator initiated trials receive funding from the DKTK (IRINA), innovation fond of GBA (PEF-Immun) and NCT-internal funding (Sportivumab, Mel-TIL).
- Together with A. Dimitrakopoulou-Strauss (CCU nuclear medicine, DKFZ) new classification criteria for PET-CT assessment under immunotherapy were developed (PERCIMT criteria, Anwar et al, Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 2018)
- Translational research projects focus on:
- mechanisms of response and resistance of immune checkpoint blockers (TIL-REP, BMBF funded, Poschke et al, CCR 2020; Hassel et al, in preparation)
- the role of immune checkpoints in melanoma (RITLIM, funded by DFG (RTG2099) and pharma (BMS); Machiraju et al, in revision)
- the interaction of immunotherapy with radiation therapy (ELEKTRA, pharma-funded; Hassel et al, in preparation) and abscopal responses (IRINA, funded by DKTK and NCT)
- expression of potential targets for cell-based therapies on melanoma cells (Unicar, funded by DKTK; Mitwasi et al, Sci Rep 2020; Strobel et al, Life 2021)
- the use of artificial intelligence for response prediction of immunotherapy (NCT-internal funding)
- Jessica C. Hassel received the German Skin Cancer Award for her translational research in 2018.