Precision Oncology for Rare Skin Cancers

Dear Colleagues,

Skin cancers, including melanoma, basal cell carcinoma (BCC), and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC), collectively represent the most prevalent malignancies worldwide. While melanoma and Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) have high mortality rates, a smaller percentage of CSCC or BCC cases lead to metastases or death. Other rare skin cancers, including sebaceous carcinoma, adnexal carcinoma, extramammary Paget’s disease, and cutaneous sarcomas, may also cause profound mortality or morbidity among affected patients.

Research into the underlying biology of skin cancers has led to crucial breakthroughs in this field. The identification of the MAPK pathway in melanoma, the sonic hedgehog pathway in BCC, and the Merkel cell polyomavirus in Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) all provide important examples of situations in which scientific discovery has been translated into clinically relevant therapeutic targeting. In addition, the recognition that UV-related skin cancers are highly immunogenic has led to the application of immune checkpoint blockade as an important treatment option for cutaneous melanoma, CSCC, BCC and MCC. Unfortunately, roughly half of all patients with these tumor types will not benefit from immune checkpoint blockade. Furthermore, there remains a limited understanding of whether checkpoint blockade is effective for other rare skin cancers and rare, non-UV related melanoma subtypes, such as acral lentiginous melanoma.

This Special Issue will describe the precision oncology approach to rare skin cancers, and welcomes studies that describe the molecular underpinnings of these cancers, novel therapeutics and approaches to managing these tumors.

Dr. Gino K. In
Dr. Aparna Nallagangula
Guest Editors

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