Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center
Investigator
Richard Carvajal, MD
Phone
646-317-6041
Email
rdc2150@cumc.columbia.edu

As the Director of Experimental Therapeutics and Director of the Melanoma Service at Columbia University Medical Center, Dr. Carvajal is focused on the development of novel therapies for patients with melanoma and other cancers, with the overall objective of controlling and curing these diseases.

To achieve this goal, he has used our increasing knowledge of the underlying biology of cancer to rapidly integrate this knowledge, novel therapeutic agents, and efficient trial design in order to improve the outcomes of cancer patients everywhere. Working closely with the laboratory scientists, the group is using the techniques of molecular biology to identify specific proteins, genes, or other molecules that influence the growth of each person's cancer, with the goal of selecting the most promising therapies for individual patients.

Dr. Carvajal's melanoma research has included the study and treatment of uncommon clinical and molecular subsets of melanoma such as melanomas arising from the eye (uveal melanomas), from the mucosal surfaces of the body (mucosal melanomas), and from the palms of the hands, soles of the feet, or under the fingernails (acral melanomas). Although these tumors arise from pigment cells of the body just as do the more common melanomas that arise from the skin (cutaneous melanomas), they are clinically and biologically distinct from cutaneous disease. Once metastatic (that is, spread from where it originally began to other sites in the body), these diseases have proven to be difficult to treat.

In an advance that helped to launch a new era of personalized medicine in melanoma therapy, Dr. Carvajal has led a clinical trial of imatinib (Gleevec) in patients with melanoma characterized by the presence of a mutation in a gene called KIT. While this mutation is rare in cutaneous melanoma, it is found in about 20% of mucosal and acral melanomas. Based in part on the positive results of this trial, where long-lasting tumor responses were observed in patients with these diseases, the use of imatinib in melanomas harboring KIT mutations was added to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines for the treatment of melanoma.

Uveal melanoma is characterized by mutations in genes called GNAQ and GNA11 that lead to activation of a growth pathway called the MAPK pathway. Before 2013, there were no effective treatments for metastatic disease; however, another trial that Dr. Carvajal has developed and conducted identified selumetinib, a medicine that blocks the MAPK pathway, as the first effective treatment for patients with advanced uveal melanoma.

Dr. Carvajal's research has been supported by the National Cancer Institute, the Food and Drug Administration, the Conquer Cancer Foundation, the Melanoma Research Alliance, the Melanoma Research Foundation, the Empire Clinical Research Investigator Program, and the generous philanthropic support of our patients and their families. He has authored or co- authored more than 50 peer-reviewed manuscripts, books, and book chapters.

In addition to Dr. Carvajal's work at Columbia University Medical Center, he serves as the co-chair of the International Rare Cancer Initiative Uveal Melanoma working group, a joint initiative between the National Cancer Institute, the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer, and the Cancer Research UK to enhance international collaboration in the conduct of clinical trials for uveal melanoma.


Clinical Studies Managed By This Investigator:
Condition Study Title
Uveal Melanoma [ CLOSED ] A study for patients with uveal melanoma using study drug AEB071
Solid Tumors [ CLOSED ] A study for patients with advanced and/or refractory solid tumors using oral drug CB-839
Melanoma [ CLOSED ] A study for patients with advanced melanoma using study drug TH-302
Cancer [ CLOSED ] A study for patients with select advanced cancers using study drug INCB24360
Cancer [ CLOSED ] A study for patients with advanced cancers using oral study drug MGCD265
Squamous Cell Carcinoma [ CLOSED ] Study for patients with melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) or squamous cell cancer of the head and neck (SCCHN) using drug B7-H3
Uveal Melanoma [ CLOSED ] Study for patients with Uveal Melanoma using study drug crizotinib
Solid Tumors [ CLOSED ] A dose escalation study of trial drug PF-06650808 in patients with advanced solid tumors
Cancer [ CLOSED ] A study for patients with advanced malignancies using study drug REGN2810 in combination with other anti-cancer therapies
Melanoma [ CLOSED ] A study for patients with melanoma using study drug talimogene laherparepvec
Head and Neck Cancer [ CLOSED ] A study for patients with Melanoma, Squamous Cell Cancer of the Head and Neck, or Non-Small Cell Lung cancer using study drug MGA271
Uveal Melanoma [ CLOSED ] A study for patients with advanced Uveal Melanoma using study drug IMCgp100
Prostate Cancer [ CLOSED ] A study for men with non-metastatic prostate cancer using study drugs enzalutamide, Enzalutamide Monotherapy, and Placebo Plus Leuprolide
Solid Tumors [ CLOSED ] A study for patients with advanced solid tumors using study drug IMC-CS4
Leukemia [ CLOSED ] A study for patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) using study drug decitabine
Cancer [ CLOSED ] A study for patients with incurable cancers using study drug CPI-444
Solid Tumors [ CLOSED ] A study for patients with advanced solid tumors using study drug MEDI1873
Solid Tumors [ CLOSED ] A study for patients with advanced solid tumors using study drug MEDI0562
Solid Tumors [ CLOSED ] A study for patients with advanced solid tumors using study drug Nivolumab
Melanoma [ CLOSED ] A study for patients with advanced melanoma using study drug Talimogene Laherparepvec
Solid Tumors [ CLOSED ] A study for patients with advanced solid tumors study drug durvalumab (MEDI4736)
Cancer [ CLOSED ] A study for patients with solid tumors, lymphoma, acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) using study drug PLX51107
Melanoma [ CLOSED ] Study of efficacy and safety of cobimetinib plus atezolizumab in patients with untreated melanoma
Solid Tumors [ CLOSED ] A Dose Escalation Trial of AEB102 in Patients with Advanced Solid Tumors
Cancer [ CLOSED ] Study of Epacadostat and Pembrolizumab in Patients Advanced Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors (GIST)
Cancer [ CLOSED ] Study of LAG525 Alone and in Combination with PDR001 in Patients with Advanced Malignancies
Cancer [ CLOSED ] Study of Drug in Patients with Advanced Solid Tumor Malignancies
Uveal Melanoma [ CLOSED ] Study of LXS196 in Patients with Uveal Melanoma
Melanoma [ CLOSED ] Study of Anti-Tumor Activity and Potential Predictors of Response in Patients with Melanoma (Advanced Mucosal or Acral Letiginous Melanoma)
Solid Tumors [ CLOSED ] Study of Drug PLX2853 in Subjects with Advanced Cancer
Cancer [ CLOSED ] Study of Drug in Subjects with Advanced Solid Tumors
Melanoma [ CLOSED ] Study of Dabrafenib, Trametinib, and Navitoclax in BRAF-Mutant Melanoma and Other Solid Tumors
Melanoma [ CLOSED ] Study of Encorafenib + Binimetinib in Patients wit hBRAFV600-Mutant Melanoma Brain Metastasis
Skin Cancer [ CLOSED ] Cemiplimab Survivorship Epidemiology (CASE) Study
Cancer [ CLOSED ] Study of LN-145 in the Treatment of Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head & Neck or Non Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)
Cancer [ CLOSED ] Immatics Biomarker Screening
Squamous Cell Carcinoma [ CLOSED ] Study of Avelumab + Cetuximab vs. Avelumab Alone in Advanced Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Skin
Cancer [ CLOSED ] PF-06821497 Treatment Of Relapsed/Refractory SCLC, Castration Resistant Prostate Cancer, and Follicular Lymphoma
Cancer [ CLOSED ] A First-in-Human Study Using BDC-1001 in Advanced and HER2-Expressing Solid Tumors
Melanoma [ CLOSED ] Study to Compare Bempegaldesleukin with Nivolumab vs. Nivolumab After Complete Resection of Melanoma in Patients at High Risk for Recurrence
Cancer [ CLOSED ] A Study of LGK974 in Patients With Cancer
Cancer [ CLOSED ] Study of Ulixertinib (BVD-523) for Patients with Advanced Cancer that Show Genetic Alterations