New therapies for Merkel cell carcinoma and its immune environment
Official title: Identifying novel therapies targeting Merkel cell carcinoma and tumor microenvironment
Funded at Southern California Inst for Res/educ · NIH-11349647 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A cancer grant is testing a drug that may boost immune therapies and help patients with Merkel cell carcinoma who don’t respond to current treatments.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Southern California Inst for Res/educ NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Long Beach, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | July 14, 2022 |
| Project end | June 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $225,013 |
| NIH project number | 5R01CA266514-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11349647 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Patients with Merkel cell carcinoma, particularly those who are ineligible for immune checkpoint inhibitors or who have resistant disease, may benefit from future applications of this research.
✕Less likely to help
Patients whose tumors do not respond to PI3K/HDAC inhibition or who cannot tolerate combination therapies may see limited or no benefit.
What this research studies
This project uses existing Merkel cell carcinoma cell lines and high-throughput drug screening to identify effective treatments. It will test fimepinostat, a PI3K/HDAC inhibitor, alone and in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors to see if it can slow or stop tumor growth. The study aims to understand how these drugs work in the cancer and its surrounding immune environment to overcome resistance and expand options for patients. Results could guide future trials and bring new therapeutic strategies closer to people with MCC.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, patients could gain more treatment options that work with or without existing immunotherapies.
How similar studies have gone: Previous studies identified fimepinostat as having anti-MCC activity in cell lines, supporting progression to testing in combination with ICIs.
Where this research is happening
-
Southern California Inst for Res/educ
Long Beach, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Gao, Ling — Southern California Inst for Res/educ
- Study coordinator: Gao, Ling
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Immunobiology and Immunotherapy for Merkel Cell Carcinoma
A team at the University of Washington is advancing how the immune system fights a rare skin cancer called Merkel cell carcinoma and testing new immune-based treatments to help patients who don’t respond to existing therapies.
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Understanding how Merkel cell skin cancer develops
This research explores how a specific virus causes Merkel cell carcinoma, a rare and aggressive skin cancer.
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New treatments for Merkel cell carcinoma
This research looks for new ways to treat Merkel cell carcinoma, a serious skin cancer, especially for patients who don't respond to current therapies.
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Immune therapies for Merkel cell carcinoma
This project develops and tests new immune-based treatments to help people with Merkel cell carcinoma, especially those whose cancers no longer respond to PD‑1 drugs.
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Investigating a new treatment for Merkel cell carcinoma
This study is looking at a type of skin cancer called Merkel cell carcinoma, especially in older Veterans, to see how a specific protein affects the cancer and to test a new treatment that could help those who can't use current therapies.
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Understanding why some patients with Merkel cell carcinoma resist immunotherapy
This study is looking into why some people with Merkel cell carcinoma, a tough type of skin cancer, don’t respond well to immunotherapy, and it hopes to find clues that could help improve treatment for those patients.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.