Clinical Skin Cancer Research

University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center Leads the Fight Against Skin Cancer

Physicians and researchers at University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center are at the forefront of investigating new therapies and procedures for skin cancer. Some of these include antigen-presenting cellular activity, chemoprevention and biological therapies such as immune-boosting melanoma vaccines.

Training Patients’ Immune Systems to Fight Melanoma

UH Seidman Cancer Center doctors and researchers were the region’s first to participate in a national clinical trial of a novel gene therapy for patients with advanced melanoma. The gene therapy was injected directly into the cancer while it was still in the body in order to make it appear foreign to the immune system. The technique helps the patient’s own immune system fight the cancer cells.

This Phase II trial is focusing on the use of Allovectin-7, an injectable treatment containing a plasmid gene-encoded DNA complex. Allovectin-7 may inhibit the growth of multiple tumors, not just the ones that have been injected.

Our clinical researchers are also studying:

• Tumor cell adhesion
• Growth factor signaling
• Stromal interactions
• Migration and metastasis

Effective Partnership with Case Western Reserve University

Our center’s affiliation with Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine enables us to lead major clinical trials of new drugs, state-of-the-art techniques and novel devices for cancer treatment. Our collaborative research efforts afford our patients opportunities to pursue investigational therapies that are not available at other centers in the region.