WE AIM TO END MELANOMA
? w hile im proving t he lives of t hose it affect s.
WHATWEDO
* National Inst tutes of Hea th ? Nat onal Cancer Inst tute: SEER. Cancer Stat Facts: Me anoma of the Skin. SEER21 (Excluding IL) 2015?2021, All Races, Both Sexes by SEERCombined Summary Stage. Ava lable at: https://seer.cancer gov/s atfacts/html/melan.htm
We direct, manage and fund COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH INITIATIVES, on a national and global scale. Our initiatives are innovative. We ask the world?s leading melanoma researchers what they need? what?s missing in the fight? and listen when they respond.
We speak on behalf of melanoma patients and families through our work in LEGISLATION, POLICY, AND ADVOCACY. The invited presence of our staff on numerous boards and committees that directly affect patients is one indication of our leadership in the world of melanoma.
The breadth, depth, and number of our EDUCATION AND SUPPORT resources for the melanoma community are second to none. Whether you?re a patient, survivor, caregiver, family member, healthcare provider, or researcher, we have so much to offer.
L E T T E R F R O M T
February 9, 2024, was the official 20-year anniversary of the founding of AIM at Melanoma, and we celebrated all year long.
For these last two decades, AIM has remained true to its original purpose: to advocate for patients; to prov de education and resources for patients, caregivers, survivors, and medical professionals; and to fund critical research? all to end melanoma in our l fetime.
P R E S I D E N T
While our purpose has never wavered, so much has changed. On the positive side, treatments have vastly mproved with the introduction of immunotherapies and targeted therapies. But the incidence of invasive melanoma has increased steeply since the 1970s, despite all the prevention information in the public realm. It remains one of the most common cancers in young adults. And deaths from the disease in 2024 alone are estimated to number 7,990.
At AIM, each year we?re able to do more than we?ve ever done? and we do it better. I?m so proud of what we offer the entire melanoma community.
This annual report describes three notable successes in 2024 for AIM at Melanoma? one from each of the areas of our mission. Thank you: You are the reason for our successes, and we are grateful for your support.
Sam Guild, President
An Anniversary Year 2024
AIM at Melanom a has so m any accom plishm ent s t o celebrat e
"Thetissuein our bankisfresh frozen. Fresh frozen tissueisrareand valuable. It?srarebecause of thecomplicated and expensivestepsto acquireit. It?svaluablebecause RNAispreserved and theimmune response initiated bythe tumor isrecognizable? keyfactorsfor research. Additionally, thebest spatial genomictechnologiesrequirefresh tissue."
Sancy
Leachman, M.D., Ph.D., Professor and Vce-Chair of Faculty Engagement, Univers ty of Utah Department of Dermatology.
THEINTERNATIONALMELANOMATISSUEBANKCONSORTIUM(IMTBC)
SUCCESS:
At t he end of 2024, w e had collect ed a t ot al of 238 fresh frozen prim ary t issues
Tissue collection continued throughout 2024, and we began the long process of reviewing,updating, standardizing, and completing the data that accompanieseach tissue. We are making great progress on the data and will continue this work into and throughout 2025.
SUCCESS:
Celebrat ing 15 years of successful engagem ent w it h t he
Depart m ent of Defense Cancer Research Program s
Starting in 2009, and continuing through 2024, it?s been 15 years of collaboration with the U.S. Government?s Department of Defense Cancer Research Programs.
Val served as a Stakeholder and ProgrammaticPanel member for the PRCRPin 2009, and she again served as a Programmatic Panel member for the MRP in 2019. After Val?s death in 2020, Sam Guild became involved with the MRP,serving as a Stakeholder and a member on the ProgrammaticPanel.
In 2009, AIM at Melanoma?s late founder and president Valerie Guild and other advocates pushed Congress to include melanoma and other skin cancers as a topic area under the Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program (PRCRP). The PRCRPsupported melanoma research for nearly 10 years. Then, in 2019, Val and other advocates convinced Congress to provide a $10 million appropriation to form the Melanoma Research Program (MRP). The MRPhas since invested in research focusing on the prevention, detection, diagnosis, and treatment of melanoma for the benefit of Service members, Veterans, their families, and the American public. In 2024, Congress appropriated $40 million for melanoma.
In addition to this work with the PRCRPand the MRP,AIM at Melanoma has nominated multiple Consumer Reviewers every year to serve on peer review panels for the funds that MRPawards. Their role is to represent the voice for the community affected with melanoma. Candidates are preferably a person living with melanoma or a survivor of the disease. Family members/caregivers may also be considered for this role.Many of AIM?s nominees have been selected to serve.
We?re proud of 15 years of helping t he U.S. governm ent and our best scient ist s st udy t he prevent ion, det ect ion, diagnosis, and t reat m ent of m elanom a.
In 2024, we added a new section to our website about melanoma in skin of color. Informative and thorough, these pages are specifically written to help people with skin of color understand risk,prevalence, prevention, early detection, and more.
SUCCESS:
We launched an im port ant new sect ion on our w ebsit e? Melanom a in Skin of Color
Because melanoma is a disease that disproportionately affects non-Hispanic Whites (typically those of European descent), most of the data available is,understandably, from patientswho are non-Hispanic Whites. But people with skin of color do develop melanoma, and more data is emerging to better understand melanoma in this population. These pages on our website help explain what we know.
Further, melanoma looks different on non-HispanicWhite skin than it doeson other skin tones, and different types of melanoma are more common in skin of color than in non-Hispanic White skin. So, importantly, in addition to the text, we provide an image library showing picturesof various types of melanoma on an array of skin tones and ethnicities.
THANKYOU
AIM at Melanoma?s goal is to end t his disease in our lifetime while im proving t he lives of t hose it affect s, and we are able to pursue this goal because of our supporters?generosity. We are committed to sound financial practices, transparency, and accountability, all of which are critical to attracting and keeping the generous funding that allows us to fulfill our mission.
Thank you for your support and your t rust .
HOWWILL2025 FINISH?
How w ill 2025 finish? What w ill w e announce as accom plishm ent s in t he next annual report ?
· The idea for the first research project for the tissue bank consortium (IMTBC)
·AIM?s lead role in advocating for consistency and transparency in clinical trials
·Expansion of our international educational offerings Head over to AIMatMelanoma.org for more!
In addition to our generous donors, thank you to our Board of Directors and our Advisory Board.
Together we can end melanoma.
