SUMMARY
The research interests of Melissa L. Stanton, M.D., center on genitourinary cancers, including prostate, bladder and kidney cancers. Specifically, Dr. Stanton studies the use of targeted therapy for renal cell carcinoma and investigates urothelial carcinoma. She is also interested in the natural history of and targeted therapy for late-relapse germ cell tumors.
Dr. Stanton's research involves reviewing all genitourinary clinical specimens at Mayo Clinic's campus in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona, including samples from patients with multiple congenital anomalies (MCA) as well as renal cell carcinomas submitted to The Cancer Genome Atlas project. As part of an institutional effort to build a standardized nephrectomy registry across the Mayo system, she is the primary MCA pathologist reviewing and entering clinicopathological variables into the central nephrectomy database.
Focus areas
- Kidney cancer. Dr. Stanton is contributing to a Mayo Clinic study aimed at identifying epigenetically regulated pathways to target the spreading (metastasis) of kidney cancer.
- Bladder cancer. She is a co-investigator on a study, funded by the National Cancer Institute, that examines a specific type of chemotherapy, bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) therapy, as treatment for bladder tumors. Specifically, the study investigates how the microenvironment of the tumor is related to the effectiveness of BCG therapy.
- Prostate cancer. Dr. Stanton has also contributed to a recent molecular characterization of prostate cancer, supported by the National Institutes of Health.
Significance to patient care
Dr. Stanton works to improve the understanding of genitourinary cancers on a molecular level, with the goal of translating this knowledge into effective cancer treatments.
Professional highlights
- Helen Chu Wagner Award for Scholastic Achievement in Pathology Residency, University of Texas Medical School at Houston, 2009
- Donald West King Fellowship in Genitourinary Pathology at the Armed Forces Institutes of Pathology, University of Texas Medical School at Houston, 2008
- Paul E. Strandjord Young Investigator Award, Academy of Clinical Laboratory Physicians and Scientists, 2006