Clinical Programs

Melanoma(203) 785-4191

About the Program

The Yale Cancer Center Melanoma Program is a multidisciplinary team developed over 25 years ago to discover new treatments and provide state-of-the-art treatment for patients with melanoma.  In order to achieve its objectives, the Melanoma Program brings together scientists, experts in clinical research, specialists in melanoma surgery, medical oncologists devoted to melanoma treatment, community oncologists, dermatologists, pathologists, dermatopathologists, and radiologists. The YCC Melanoma Program meets every Thursday morning to discuss optimal multi-disciplinary management of individual patients and new research findings applicable to treatment of the disease.  

The Melanoma Program is co-directed by Dr. Stephan Ariyan and Dr. Mario Sznol. Dr. Ariyan is a nationally recognized plastic surgeon and former Chief of Plastic Surgery at Yale-New Haven Hospital, with 30 years of experience in the care of melanoma patients,  and a distinguished record in research of surgical approaches and management of patients with melanoma. Dr. Sznol is the current Vice Chief of Medical Oncology. Dr. Sznol brings to Yale nationally recognized expertise in drug development and development of immunotherapy treatments for melanoma.

The basic foundations of the Yale Cancer Center Melanoma Program are basic research, clinical research, and skilled multi-disciplinary care of patients. The basic research is headed by Dr. Ruth Halaban, a molecular biologist who has made fundamental contributions to the understanding of melanoma biology. Dr. Halaban is Director of the recently awarded Skin SPORE grant, one of only 4 in the country, which supports multiple research projects in melanoma that translate basic science into clinical application. Other members of the Melanoma Program have combined clinical and laboratory programs. For example, Dr. Harriet Kluger, a medical oncologist specializing in treatment of melanoma, has a laboratory program focused on tissue microarrays, which provide a means to discover biomarkers for prognosis and response to treatment, and potential targets for drug treatment. Dr. Kluger’s program is closely allied with Dr. David Rimm, who leads the Yale Tissue Microarray Program and Yale’s efforts to discover prognostic markers for early melanoma lesions. 

The Melanoma Program Clinical Research initiatives are led by Dr. Sznol. The goal of the clinical research program is to introduce and investigate novel treatments for patients with melanoma. Currently, 6 clinical trials are available for patients with metastatic disease, including novel chemotherapy regimens, anti-angiogenesis agents (drugs that destroy or inhibit the formation of blood vessels that feed tumor), and new agents that stimulate the body’s immune system to attack the melanoma tumors. In addition, patients with metastatic melanoma who are no longer eligible for melanoma-specific studies may be offered novel cancer treatments through the Yale Cancer Center Phase I Clinical Trial Program. 

Clinical care of melanoma patients is a coordinated effort of the YCC Melanoma Program surgeons, medical oncologists, dermatologists, radiologists, surgical and dermatologic pathologists, and radiologists. Dr. Ariyan directs the weekly conference in which care and management of patients is discussed among the Program members. Clinical history, physical exam findings, surgical procedures, x-ray studies, and pathology slides are reviewed at the conference, and optimal approaches to treatment are proposed and discussed at length. The Program emphasizes communication with all physicians active in the care of patients. The Program and its patients benefit from the extensive experience of its members in the diagnosis, treatment, and care of patients with melanoma.