Publications and Patents

Over the course of more than a decade dedicated to melanoma research, we've achieved significant milestones, culminating in the submission of multiple patents. These patents encapsulate our breakthroughs in identifying unique vulnerabilities within melanoma, devising targeted strategies to address these vulnerabilities, and pioneering novel methods for drug administration.

Patents

1. U.S. provisional patent application, serial no. 61/933,881 “Detection and Treatment of GNAQ mutant uveal melanoma cells with gold nanoparticles."
2. Functional Metallic Nanoparticles for the Detection of Nucleic Acids: EP14382033.0.    
3. U.S. provisional patent application. UC Agreement No. 2023-30-0268 (2020-153-1). "LNCRNA transcripts in melanomagenesis."

Publications

  1. Bauer JW, Ortiz-Urda S, Hengstschläger M, Pulkinnen L, Uitto J, Hintner H, Rappersberger K. Prenatal diagnosis of recessive hereditary dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa with haplotype analysis of the type VII collagen gene. Hautarzt 50: 121-126, 1999.
  2. Schaeppi H, Bauer JW, Hametner R, Metze D, Ortiz-Urda S, Salmhofer W, Rappersberger K, Hintner H. A localized variant of paraneoplastic pemphigus: acantholysis associated with malignant melanoma. Br J Dermatol. 2001 Jun; 144(6):1249-54. PMID: 11422052
  3. Schmuth M, Yosipovitch G, Williams ML, Weber F, Hintner H, Ortiz-Urda S, Rappersberger K, Crumrine D, Feingold KR, Elias PM. Pathogenesis of the permeability barrier abnormality in epidermolytic hyperkeratosis. J Invest Dermatol. 2001 Oct; 117(4):837-47. PMID: 11676820
  4. Ortiz-Urda S, Thyagarajan B, Keene DR, Lin Q, Fang M, Calos MP, Khavari PA. Stable nonviral genetic correction of inherited human skin disease. Nat Med. 2002 Oct; 8(10):1166-70. PMID: 12244305
  5. Ortiz-Urda S, Lin Q, Green CL, Keene DR, Marinkovich MP, Khavari PA. Injection of genetically engineered fibroblasts corrects regenerated human epidermolysis bullosa skin tissue. J Clin Invest. 2003 Jan; 111(2):251-5. PMID: 12531881
  6. Ortiz-Urda S, Rappersberger K. [New immunosuppressive agents for treating psoriasis]. Hautarzt. 2003 Mar; 54(3):230-6. PMID: 12634991
  7. Ortiz-Urda S, Thyagarajan B, Keene DR, Lin Q, Calos MP, Khavari PA. PhiC31 integrase-mediated nonviral genetic correction of junctional epidermolysis bullosa. Hum Gene Ther. 2003 Jun 10; 14(9):923-8. PMID: 12828862
  8. Ortiz-Urda S, Lin Q, Yant SR, Keene D, Kay MA, Khavari PA. Sustainable correction of junctional epidermolysis bullosa via transposon-mediated nonviral gene transfer. Gene Ther. 2003 Jul; 10(13):1099-104. PMID: 12808440
  9. Ortiz-Urda S, Elbe-Bürger A, Smolle J, Marquart Y, Chudnovsky Y, Ridky TW, Bernstein P, Wolff K, Rappersberger K. The plant lectin wheat germ agglutinin inhibits the binding of pemphigus foliaceus autoantibodies to desmoglein 1 in a majority of patients and prevents pathomechanisms of pemphigus foliaceus in vitro and in vivo. J Immunol. 2003 Dec 1; 171(11):6244-50. PMID: 14634141
  10. Valencak J, Ortiz-Urda S, Heere-Ress E, Kunstfeld R, Base W. Carbamazepine-induced DRESS syndrome with recurrent fever and exanthema. Int J Dermatol. 2004 Jan; 43(1):51-4. PMID: 14693022
  11. Marker M, Ortiz-Urda S, Lilgenau N, Rappersberger K. [Erythema induratum-nodular vasculitis]. J Dtsch Dermatol Ges. 2004 Mar; 2(3):206-14; quiz 215. PMID: 1628163
  12. Ortiz-Urda S, Garcia J, Green CL, Chen L, Lin Q, Veitch DP, Sakai LY, Lee H, Marinkovich MP, Khavari PA. Type VII collagen is required for Ras-driven human epidermal tumorigenesis. Science. 2005 Mar 18; 307(5716):1773-6. PMID: 15774758
  13. Waterman EA, Sakai N, Nguyen NT, Horst BA, Veitch DP, Dey CN, Ortiz-Urda S, Khavari PA, Marinkovich MP. A laminin-collagen complex drives human epidermal carcinogenesis through phosphoinositol-3-kinase activation. Cancer Res. 2007 May 01; 67(9):4264-70. PMID: 17483338.
  14. Reuter JA, Ortiz-Urda S, Kretz M, Garcia J, Scholl FA, Pasmooij AM, Cassarino D, Chang HY, Khavari PA. Modeling inducible human tissue neoplasia identifies an extracellular matrix interaction network involved in cancer progression. Cancer Cell. 2009 Jun 02; 15(6):477-88. PMID: 19477427. PMCID: PMC3050547
  15. Chong K, Daud A, Ortiz-Urda S, Arron ST. Cutting edge in medical management of cutaneous oncology. Semin Cutan Med Surg. 2012 Jun; 31(2):140-9. PMID: 22640435. PMCID: PMC3367308
  16. Posch C, Moslehi H, Feeney L, Green GA, Ebaee A, Feichtenschlager V, Chong K, Peng L, Dimon MT, Phillips T, Daud AI, McCalmont TH, Leboit PE, Ortiz-Urda S. Combined targeting of MEK and PI3K/mTOR effector pathways is necessary to effectively inhibit NRAS mutant melanoma in vitro and in vivo. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013 Mar 5; 110(10):4015-20. PMID: 23431193 PMCID: PMC3593920
  17. Posch C, Ortiz-Urda S. NRAS mutant melanoma--undrugable? Oncotarget. 2013 Apr; 4(4):494-5. PMID: 23660168. PMCID: PMC3720596
  18. Posch C, Pinney E, Ortiz-Urda S, Montes-Camacho M, Naughton GK. Human Multipotent Stem Cell Proteins Induce Apoptosis in Skin Cancer Cells. Journal of Cancer Therapy. 2013 July 4; 4:1-6. doi: 10.4236/jct.2013.46A1001
  19. Posch C, Weihsengruber F, Bartsch K, Feichtenschlager V, Sanlorenzo M, Vujic I, Monshi B, Ortiz-Urda S, Rappersberger K. Low-dose inhalation of interleukin-2 bio-chemotherapy for the treatment of pulmonary metastases in melanoma patients. Br J Cancer. 2014 Mar 18; 110(6):1427-32. PMID: 24518593. PMCID: PMC3960625
  20. Sanlorenzo M, Vujic I, Posch C, Dajee A, Yen A, Kim S, Ashworth M, Rosenblum MD, Algazi A, Osella-Abate S, Quaglino P, Daud A, Ortiz-Urda S. Melanoma immunotherapy. Cancer Biol Ther. 2014 Jun 01; 15(6):665-74. PMID: 24651672. PMCID: PMC4049781
  21. Latorre A, Posch C, Garcimartín Y, Ortiz-Urda S, Somoza Á. Single-point mutation detection in RNA extracts using gold nanoparticles modified with hydrophobic molecular beacon-like structures. Chem Commun (Camb). 2014 Mar 21; 50(23):3018-20. PMID: 24496380. PMCID: PMC4339280
  22. Curl P, Vujic I, van 't Veer LJ, Ortiz-Urda S, Kahn JG. Cost-effectiveness of treatment strategies for BRAF-mutated metastatic melanoma. PLoS One. 2014; 9(9):e107255. PMID: 25198196. PMCID: PMC4157865
  23. Latorre A, Posch C, Garcimartín Y, Celli A, Sanlorenzo M, Vujic I, Ma J, Zekhtser M, Rappersberger K, Ortiz-Urda S, Somoza Á. DNA and aptamer stabilized gold nanoparticles for targeted delivery of anticancer therapeutics. Nanoscale. 2014 Jul 7; 6(13):7436-42. PMID: 24882040
  24. Vujic I, Posch C, Sanlorenzo M, Yen AJ, Tsumura A, Kwong A, Feichtenschlager V, Lai K, Arneson DV, Rappersberger K, Ortiz-Urda SM. Mutant NRASQ61 shares signaling similarities across various cancer types--potential implications for future therapies. Oncotarget. 2014 Sep 15; 5(17):7936-44. PMID: 25277205. PMCID: PMC4202171
  25. Sanlorenzo M, Choudhry A, Vujic I, Posch C, Chong K, Johnston K, Meier M, Osella-Abate S, Quaglino P, Daud A, Algazi A, Rappersberger K, Ortiz-Urda S. Comparative profile of cutaneous adverse events: BRAF/MEK inhibitor combination therapy versus BRAF monotherapy in melanoma. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2014 Dec; 71(6):1102-1109.e1. PMID: 25440439. PMCID: PMC4254519
  26. Vujic I, Sanlorenzo M, Posch C, Esteve-Puig R, Yen AJ, Kwong A, Tsumura A, Murphy R, Rappersberger K, Ortiz-Urda S. Metformin and trametinib have synergistic effects on cell viability and tumor growth in NRAS mutant cancer. Oncotarget. 2015 Jan 20; 6(2):969-78. PMID: 25504439. PMCID: PMC4359268
  27. Sanlorenzo M, Wehner MR, Linos E, Kornak J, Kainz W, Posch C, Vujic I, Johnston K, Gho D, Monico G, McGrath JT, Osella-Abate S, Quaglino P, Cleaver JE, Ortiz-Urda S. The risk of melanoma in airline pilots and cabin crew: a meta-analysis. JAMA Dermatol. 2015 Jan; 151(1):51-8. PMID: 25188246. PMCID: PMC4482339
  28. Curl P, Vujic I, van 't Veer LJ, Ortiz-Urda S, Kahn JG. Correction: Cost-Effectiveness Of Treatment Strategies for BRAF-Mutated Metastatic Melanoma. PLoS One. 2015; 10(4):e0126988. PMID: 25893993. PMCID: PMC4404367
  29. Posch C, Latorre A, Crosby MB, Celli A, Latorre A, Vujic I, Sanlorenzo M, Green GA, Weier J, Zekhtser M, Ma J, Monico G, Char DH, Jusufbegovic D, Rappersberger K, Somoza Á, Ortiz-Urda S. Detection of GNAQ mutations and reduction of cell viability in uveal melanoma cells with functionalized gold nanoparticles. Biomed Microdevices. 2015 Feb; 17(1):15. PMID: 25653058. PMCID: PMC4586106
  30. Vujic I, Shroff A, Grzelka M, Posch C, Monshi B, Sanlorenzo M, Ortiz-Urda S, Rappersberger K. Mycoplasma pneumoniae-associated mucositis--case report and systematic review of literature. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2015 Mar; 29(3):595-8. PMID: 24665876
  31. Vujic I, Marker M, Posch C, Mühlehner D, Monshi B, Breier F, Steiner A, Ortiz-Urda S, Rappersberger K. Merkel cell carcinoma: mitoses, expression of Ki-67 and bcl-2 correlate with disease progression. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2015 Mar; 29(3):542-8. PMID: 25088273
  32. Sanlorenzo M, Vujic I, Posch C, Cleaver JE, Quaglino P, Ortiz-Urda S. The risk of melanoma in pilots and cabin crew: UV measurements in flying airplanes. JAMA Dermatol. 2015 Apr; 151(4):450-2. PMID: 25517516. PMCID: PMC4476387
  33. Dillon AB, Lin K, Kwong A, Ortiz S.  Immunotherapy in Melanoma, Gastrointestinal (GI), and Pulmonary Malignancies. Aims Public Health.  2015 March. Volume 2, Issue 1, 86-115 PMID: 29546098:PMCID: PMC5690372
  34. Algazi AP, Cha E, Ortiz-Urda SM, McCalmont T, Bastian BC, Hwang J, Pampaloni MH, Behr S, Chong K, Cortez B, Quiroz A, Coakley F, Liu S, Daud AI. The combination of axitinib followed by paclitaxel/carboplatin yields extended survival in advanced BRAF wild-type melanoma: results of a clinical/correlative prospective phase II clinical trial. Br J Cancer. 2015 Apr 14; 112(8):1326-31. PMID: 25867272. PMCID: PMC4402449
  35. Posch C, Cholewa BD, Vujic I, Sanlorenzo M, Ma J, Kim ST, Kleffel S, Schatton T, Rappersberger K, Gutteridge R, Ahmad N, Ortiz-Urda S. Combined Inhibition of MEK and Plk1 has Synergistic Anti-Tumor Activity in NRAS Mutant Melanoma. J Invest Dermatol. 2015 May 27. PMID: 26016894. PMCID: PMC4567913
  36. Goldenberg A, Vujic I, Sanlorenzo M, Ortiz-Urda S. Melanoma risk perception and prevention behavior among African-Americans: the minority melanoma paradox. Clin Cosmet Investig Dermatol. 2015 August; 8:423-9. PMID: 26346576. PMCID: PMC4531028
  37. Sanlorenzo M, Vujic I, Daud A, Algazi A, Gubens M, Luna SA, Lin K, Quaglino P, Rappersberger K, Ortiz-Urda S. Pembrolizumab Cutaneous Adverse Events and Their Association With Disease Progression. JAMA Dermatol. 2015 Nov; 151(11):1206-1212. PMID: 26222619. PMCID: PMC5061067
  38. Sanlorenzo M, Vujic I, Ortiz-Urda S. Time-Dependent Measurement of Adverse Events-Reply. JAMA Dermatol. 2015 Dec 01; 151(12):1392-1393. PMID: 26650664
  39. Monshi B, Vujic M, Kivaranovic D, Sesti A, Oberaigner W, Vujic I, Ortiz-Urda S, Posch C, Feichtinger H, Hackl M, Rappersberger K. The burden of malignant melanoma - Lessons to be learned from Austria.  Eur J Cancer. 2016 Mar; 56:45-53. PMID: 26802530
  40. Vujic I, Sanlorenzo M, Esteve-Puig R, Vujic M, Kwong A, Tsumura A, Murphy R, Moy A, Posch C, Monshi B, Rappersberger K, Ortiz-Urda S. Acyl protein thioesterase 1 and 2 (APT-1, APT-2) inhibitors palmostatin B, ML348 and ML349 have different effects on NRAS mutant melanoma cells. Oncotarget. 2016 Feb 09; 7(6):7297-306. PMID: 26771141. PMCID: PMC4872786
  41. Posch C, Vujic I, Monshi B, Sanlorenzo M, Weihsengruber F, Rappersberger K, Ortiz-Urda S. Searching for the Chokehold of NRAS Mutant Melanoma. J Invest Dermatol. 2016 07; 136(7):1330-1336. PMID: 27160069. PMCID: PMC4921268
  42. Sanlorenzo M, Vujic I, Posch C, Ma J, Lin K, Lai K, Lee D, Vujic M, Oses-Prieto JA, Chand S, Rodriguez-Peralto JL, Burlingame A, Ortiz-Urda S. Oncogenic KIT mutations in different exons lead to specific changes in melanocyte phospho-proteome. J Proteomics. 2016 07 20; 144:140-7. PMID: 27216642. PMCID: PMC5026456
  43. Moreno Traspas R, Vujic I, Sanlorenzo M, Ortiz-Urda S. New Insights in Melanoma Biomarkers: LncRNAs.  Melanoma Management.  2016 Sep;3(3):195-205.PMID: 30190889: PMCID: PMC6094599
  44. Posch C, Moslehi H, Sanlorenzo M, Green G, Vujic I, Panzer-Grümayer ER, Rappersberger K, Ortiz-Urda S. Pharmacological inhibitors of c-KIT block mutant c-KIT mediated migration of melanocytes and melanoma cells in vitro and in vivo.  Oncotarget. 2016 Jul 19;7(29):45916-45925.PMID: 27322141:PMCID: PMC5216770
  45. Posch C, Sanlorenzo M, Vujic I, Oses-Prieto JA, Cholewa BD, Kim ST, Ma J,  Lai K, Zekhtser M, Esteve-Puig R, Green G, Chand S, Burlingame AL, Panzer-Grümayer R, Rappersberger K, Ortiz-Urda S. Phosphoproteomic Analyses of NRAS(G12) and NRAS(Q61) Mutant Melanocytes Reveal Increased CK2a Kinase Levels in NRAS(Q61) Mutant Cells. J Invest Dermatol. 2016 Oct;136 (10):2041-8. PMID: 27251789: PMCID: PMC6373467
  46. Algazi AP, Esteve-Puig R, Nosrati A, Hinds B, Hobbs-Muthukumar A, Nandoskar P, Ortiz-Urda S, Chapman PB, Daud A.Dual MEK/AKT inhibition with trametinib and GSK2141795 does not yield clinical benefit in metastatic NRAS-mutant and wild-type melanoma. Pigment Cell Melanoma Res. 2018 Jan;31(1):110-114. doi: 10.1111/pcmr.12644. PMID: 28921907
  47. Zheng YJ, Lee A, Pincus L, Ho W, Vujic M, Ortiz-Urda S. Cutaneous CD56+ T-cell lymphoma developing during pembrolizumab treatment for metastatic melanoma. JAAD Case Rep. 2018 Jul; 4(6):540-542. PMID: 29892669. PMCID: PMC5991899
  48. Sanlorenzo M, Vujic I, Esteve-Puig R, Lai K, Vujic M, Lin K, Posch C, Dimon M, Moy A, Zekhtser M, Johnston K, Gho D, Ho W, Gajjala A, Oses Prieto J, Burlingame A, Daud A, Rappersberger K, Ortiz-Urda S. The lincRNA MIRAT binds to IQGAP1 and modulates the MAPK pathway in NRAS mutant melanoma. Sci Rep. 2018 Jul 19; 8(1):10902. PMID: 30026510. PMCID: PMC6053443
  49. Posch C, Sanlorenzo M, Ma J, Kim ST, Zekhtser M, Ortiz-Urda S. MEK/CDK4,6 co-targeting is effective in a subset of NRAS, BRAF and 'wild type' melanomas. Oncotarget. 2018 Oct 09; 9(79):34990-34995. PMID: 30405888. PMCID: PMC6201855
  50. Algazi AP, Rotow J, Posch C, Ortiz-Urda S, Pelayo A, Munster PN, Daud A. A dual pathway inhibition strategy using BKM120 combined with vemurafenib is poorly tolerated in BRAF V600E/K mutant advanced melanoma. Pigment Cell Melanoma Res. 2019 07; 32(4):603-606. PMID: 30801911
  51. Zheng YJ, Ho C, Lazar A, Ortiz-Urda S. Poor melanoma outcomes and survival in Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2020 Aug 26. PMID: 32860918
  52. Zheng,YJ, Ho W, Sanlorenzo M, Vujic I, Daud A, Algazi A, Rappersberger K, Ortiz-Urda S. Melanoma risk during immunomodulating treatment. Melanoma Res. 2022 Dec 1;32(6):411-418. doi: 10.1097/CMR.0000000000000838. PMID: 35993892
  53. Feichtenschlager V, Zheng Y,  Ho W, Chen L, Callanan C, Chen C, Lee A, Ortiz J, Rappersberger K, Ortiz-Urda S, Deconstructing the Role of MALAT1 in MAPK-signaling in Melanoma: Insights from Antisense Oligonucleotide Treatment. Oncotarget. 2023.  May 26;14:543-560. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.28447. PMID: 37235843 PMCID: PMC10219656
  54. Feichtenschlager V, Chen L, Zheng YJ, Ho W, Sanlorenzo M, Vujic I, Fewings E, Lee A, Chen C, Callanan C, Lin K, Qu T, Hohlova D, Vujic M, Hwang Y, Lai K, Chen S, Nguyen T, Muñoz DP, Kohwi Y, Posch C, Daud A, Rappersberger K, Kohwi-Shigematsu T, Coppé JP, Ortiz-Urda S. The therapeutically actionable long non-coding RNA 'T-RECS' is essential to cancer cells' survival in NRAS/MAPK-driven melanoma. Molecular Cancer. 2024 Feb 22;23(1):40. doi: 10.1186/s12943-024-01955-7. PMID: 38383439 PMCID: PMC10882889

  55. Ho, T, Ortiz Urda S, Berry R. Lichen Sclerosus of the Eyelid involving the Eyelash Margin. Skin Health & Disease. March 2024. https://doi.org/10.1002/ski2.368

Books/Chapters
2013 - Anormal Pigmentation. Posch C, Ortiz-Urda S. In: GEMSoft [electronic media]. Lin M, Chin RL (eds). GEMSoft (General Emergency Medicine Software).Queensland, Australia: Pemsoft Pty Ltd.

2013 - Drug Reactions. Posch C, Ortiz-Urda S. In: GEMSoft [electronic media]. Lin M, Chin RL (eds). GEMSoft (General Emergency Medicine Software).Queensland, Australia: Pemsoft Pty Ltd.

2016 - Ultraviolet Radiation Carcinogenesis. Cleaver JE, Ortiz-Urda S, Gulhar, R, Arron, S, Brooks L, Mitchell DL. Holland-Frei Cancer Medicine, 9th Edition.

2020  - Ultraviolet Radiation Carcinogenesis. Cleaver JE, Ortiz-Urda S, Arron, S Cancer Medicine 10th edition. 

2024  - Updates in Melanoma Diagnosis and Treatment. Ortiz-Urda S. 2024 Springer (finalized).