Precision therapies for melanoma that work with patients’ tumors
Official title: Rational Approaches to Melanoma Therapy
Funded at Wistar Institute · NIH-11397750 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A large, patient-focused effort uses tumor samples from people with melanoma to test and develop combination treatments that overcome resistance and extend responses.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Wistar Institute NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Philadelphia, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2017 |
| Project end | August 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $1,279,708 |
| NIH project number | 5U54CA224070-08 |
| Project ID | NIH-11397750 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Patients with melanoma, especially those with BRAFV600E/K mutations or tumors reflecting diverse genetic profiles, may benefit.
✕Less likely to help
Patients whose tumors do not engraft or who are not eligible for trial testing may not benefit.
What this research studies
This program builds a diverse set of patient-derived melanoma tumor models to fast-track combination therapies that can move into clinical trials. Researchers will study how tumors with and without BRAF mutations respond to current and new treatment combos, aiming to outsmart resistance. The work relies on a living collection of patient tumors (PDX models) that mirrors real patient diversity to guide therapy choices. The goal is to translate lab findings into trials that offer longer-lasting control of melanoma. Overall, the project aims to provide more durable options for patients whose melanoma stops responding to standard therapies.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, patients could receive more effective, longer-lasting treatment options for melanoma.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work with patient-derived models has shown that personalized combinations can predict responses and guide effective therapies.
Where this research is happening
-
Wistar Institute
Philadelphia, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Villanueva, Jessie — Wistar Institute
- Study coordinator: Villanueva, Jessie
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Melanoma vaccine built from tiny spherical nucleic acids
A new kind of cancer vaccine using tiny spherical nucleic acids to help the immune system fight advanced melanoma.
-
Injecting immune-boosting medicine into melanoma tumors to help the immune system reject them
This gives an immune-boosting drug directly into melanoma tumors in pet dogs to help their T cells find and destroy the cancer.
-
SIRT6 and melanoma growth and spread
Researchers are seeing if blocking a protein called SIRT6 can help stop melanoma from growing and spreading in people with melanoma.
-
How tumor cell stress and nearby support cells help melanoma spread
This project looks at whether blocking a tumor cell stress response and changing how nearby support cells behave might keep melanoma cells from surviving, spreading, and resisting treatment.
-
PLK4 as a potential drug target in melanoma
Researchers are exploring whether blocking PLK4 could be a new way to treat melanoma and how PLK4 works with other melanoma-driving pathways.
-
A new lentivector to deliver multiple TCRs for melanoma cell therapy
A new gene-delivery approach aims to boost T cell receptors inside patients’ own cells to treat advanced melanoma.
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.