Melanoma and skin cancer

When you come to the HonorHealth Research Institute Melanoma and Skin Cancer Clinic, you have access to cutting-edge care for locally advanced and metastatic skin cancers. We have pioneered the development and treatment of advanced skin cancers, with a key focus on less common forms of skin cancer that have fewer treatment options.

Treatments and clinical trials

Melanoma

Our clinic offers one of the largest groups of clinical trials for patients with advanced melanoma. Additionally, the melanoma clinic is one of the few places in Arizona that can offer patients talimogene laherparepvec, an FDA-approved injectable treatment for advanced melanoma.  

Squamous cell carcinoma

Immunotherapy was recently approved and can provide long-term responses for some patients with advanced squamous cell carcinoma. However, it remains ineffective for the majority of patients. Additionally, many patients are unable to receive immunotherapy due to pre-existing autoimmune disease and/or organ transplant. 

We are actively studying new therapies to treat squamous cell carcinoma, with a goal to develop treatments that are safer than immunotherapy for patients with history of organ transplant or autoimmune disease. Additionally, our clinic works closely with multiple dermatology groups in the Phoenix area to try to prevent patients from developing advanced disease. 

Basal cell carcinoma

After leading the development of vismodegib for patients with advanced basal cell carcinoma, we are continuing to create new therapies for patients treated whose advanced basal cell carcinoma has progressed even after being treated with vismodegib or similar therapies.

Merkle cell carcinoma

Merkle cell carcinoma is a rare, aggressive form of skin cancer. For patients with localized disease, surgery and radiation is the standard regimen. Despite this aggressive therapy, recurrence rates are high. Therefore, for patients with high-risk disease, our clinic offers systemic immunotherapy prior to surgery, to try to improve outcomes for patients. Additionally, patients with advanced or metastatic disease have access to numerous clinical trials. 

Uveal melanoma

Despite being the most common eye cancer in adults, uveal melanoma is a rare cancer that has high rates of recurrence. Currently, no therapy has been shown to be effective at preventing recurrence or treating disease once it returns. 

Given the dire need for treatment options for patients with metastatic uveal melanoma, we offer a special program devoted to developing treatment options for this rare tumor.