.jpg)
Every year the Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA) looks forward to bringing together the melanoma community at our annual Scientific Retreat. The 2025 Scientific Retreat was held February 26 – 28 in Washington, D.C. and brought together over 300 academic researchers and clinicians, pharmaceutical and biotech representatives, partners and donors, and patient advocates to engage in scientific discourse, collaboration, and learning.
At the Retreat, participants learned about the latest research breakthroughs in melanoma diagnosis, preventing disease progression, and advancing new treatments — with many updates stemming directly from the contributions of MRA-funded investigators. The event also highlighted perspectives from the patient advocate community, inspiring us all and emphasizing our shared mission to end suffering and death due to melanoma.
To officially kick off the 2025 event, New York City-based writer and editor George Mannes shared his melanoma journey. An avid marathon and distance runner, George never imagined what he assumed was a blood blister on his big toe would end up changing his life. In 2021, he was diagnosed with acral melanoma — a rare and aggressive subtype that forms on the palms, soles, or under nails.
George’s diagnosis came as a shock. Like many people, he associated skin cancer with sun exposure, never expecting the small lesion on his toe to be melanoma. Following surgery to amputate his toe, George began immunotherapy. Although the treatment initially helped, his cancer progressed.
Despite the setbacks, George and his care team pressed forward, trying multiple treatment combinations and enrolling in a clinical trial. Along the way, he has experienced both the physical toll of advanced melanoma and the emotional challenges of navigating a rare cancer.
Through it all, George stays grounded in hope, fueled by the love of his family, his own determination to keep going, and the passion of his care team and
researchers. Today, George continues to navigate melanoma, grateful for his quality of life. “If I had gotten melanoma a decade earlier, I don’t know that I’d be around to talk about it three and a half years later,” he shared with the Retreat audience. “I’d like to thank each and every researcher for all the work they’ve done in the past, and all the work they are doing now. Work that is keeping me and other cancer patients alive and preserving our quality of life.”
George’s story is a powerful reminder of why continued research is so vital — giving patients more options, more time, and more hope for the future.
.jpg)
.png)
.jpg)
.jpg)