Translational Science at the Mohs Meeting

By Sarah Arron, MD, PhD, FACMS

The interaction between skin cancer surgeons and our basic research colleagues can lead to exciting innovations in our field. The recent ACMS Annual Meeting in San Antonio was rich with translational research. I was delighted to present some of the molecular virology of the Merkel cell polyomavirus in the session on Merkel cell carcinoma, and even more delighted by the enthusiastic reception from our members. While much of the work presented was exploratory in nature, these pilot projects give our members a taste of what innovations are on the horizon and keep us on the cutting edge of our field.

In the Masters’ Pearls session, John Carucci shared some of his laboratory’s data on IL-22 induction of SCC cell proliferation, data that may lead to a potential new immunotherapy for SCC. 

In the Tromovitch session, Andrew Breithaupt presented an investigation of human and viral gene signatures in cutaneous SCC. They used RNASeq to demonstrate an antiviral immune response in tumors that was stronger in immunocompetent patients than in immunosuppressed. These data support our current understanding of the potential interplay between viruses, the immune system, and cancer.

Novel imaging modalities were also shared at the meeting. Erik Cabral presented three-dimensional optical imaging of tumor tissue using molecular markers of keratin to demonstrate perineural and endoneural invasion in SCC.

Posters included an example of whole exome sequencing of a primary SCC and its in-transit metastasis, contributed by Abigail Baird and colleagues. They identified mutations in EGFR, mTOR, NOTCH2, and KMT2C. While it is difficult to extrapolate this data to metastatic SCC in general, they were able to justify the use of the EGFR inhibitor cetuximab in this patient. There was also poster from Castle Biosciences presenting data on their melanoma prognostic assay, which uses gene expression profiling to predict outcomes in melanoma.

I look forward to more basic and translational research at the next meeting!