Mario Sznol, MD
Professor of Medicine (Medical Oncology)DownloadHi-Res Photo
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Additional Titles
Clinical Research Leader, Melanoma Program
Co-Director, Yale SPORE in Skin Cancer
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Titles
Professor of Medicine (Medical Oncology)
Clinical Research Leader, Melanoma Program; Co-Director, Yale SPORE in Skin Cancer
Biography
Dr. Mario Sznol is a Professor of Medicine (Medical Oncology). Dr. Sznol, formerly with the National Cancer Institute, has an international reputation in cancer drug development. Dr. Sznol's expertise and experience is in cancer immunotherapy, drug development for cancer, and treatment of patients with melanoma and renal cell carcinoma. He is working to expand the opportunities for clinical trials at the Yale Cancer Center, particularly those focusing on immunotherapy and novel agents.
Last Updated on April 07, 2025.
Appointments
Medical Oncology and Hematology
ProfessorPrimary
Other Departments & Organizations
- Cancer Immunology
- Human and Translational Immunology Program
- Internal Medicine
- K12 Calabresi Immuno-Oncology Training Program (IOTP)
- Medical Oncology and Hematology
- Skin & Kidney Cancer Program
- SPORE in Skin Cancer
- Yale Cancer Center
- Yale Ventures
- Yale-UPR Integrated HIV Basic and Clinical Sciences Initiative
Education & Training
- Fellow
- Mount Sinai College of Medicine (1987)
- Resident
- Baylor College of Medicine (1985)
- MD
- Baylor College of Medicine (1982)
- BA
- Rice University (1979)
Board Certifications
Medical Oncology
- Certification Organization
- AB of Internal Medicine
- Original Certification Date
- 1987
Internal Medicine
- Certification Organization
- AB of Internal Medicine
- Original Certification Date
- 1985
Research
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Overview
Dr. Sznol has an international reputation in cancer drug development. Dr. Sznol's expertise and experience is in cancer immunotherapy, drug development for cancer, and treatment of patients with melanoma and renal cell carcinoma. He is working to expand the opportunities for clinical trials at the Yale Cancer Center, particularly those focusing on immunotherapy and novel agents.
Medical Research Interests
Melanoma
ORCID
0000-0002-4359-8749
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Frequent collaborators of Mario Sznol's published research.
Publications Timeline
A big-picture view of Mario Sznol's research output by year.
Research Interests
Research topics Mario Sznol is interested in exploring.
Harriet Kluger, MD
Ruth Halaban, PhD
Lucia Jilaveanu, MD, PhD
Scott Gettinger, MD
David Rimm, MD, PhD
Sarah Weiss, MD
164Publications
53,612Citations
Publications
2025
Survival of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma with or without brain metastases.
Hurwitz M, Considine B, Hasson N, Savion Gaiger N, Nelson M, Chiang V, Kluger H, Braun D, Schoenfeld D, Sznol M, Leapman M. Survival of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma with or without brain metastases. Journal Of Clinical Oncology 2025, 43: 476-476. DOI: 10.1200/jco.2025.43.5_suppl.476.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsConceptsMetastatic renal cell carcinomaImmune checkpoint inhibitorsClear cell RCCRenal cell carcinomaImmune checkpoint inhibitor therapyMetastatic clear cell RCCBrain metastasesOverall survivalCell carcinomaImmune checkpoint inhibitor eraPrevalence of brain metastasesMultivariate Cox proportional hazards modelAssociated with poor survivalMedian overall survivalAssociated with poor prognosisCompare overall survivalImproved overall survivalAdverse prognostic indicatorDevelopment of BMSurvival of patientsKaplan-Meier analysisYale Cancer CenterRetrospective cohort studyCox proportional hazards modelsProportional hazards model
2024
Pooled Long-Term Outcomes With Nivolumab Plus Ipilimumab or Nivolumab Alone in Patients With Advanced Melanoma
Long G, Larkin J, Schadendorf D, Grob J, Lao C, Márquez-Rodas I, Wagstaff J, Lebbé C, Pigozzo J, Robert C, Ascierto P, Atkinson V, Postow M, Atkins M, Sznol M, Callahan M, Topalian S, Sosman J, Kotapati S, Thakkar P, Ritchings C, Benito M, Re S, Soleymani S, Hodi F. Pooled Long-Term Outcomes With Nivolumab Plus Ipilimumab or Nivolumab Alone in Patients With Advanced Melanoma. Journal Of Clinical Oncology 2024, 43: 938-948. PMID: 39504507, PMCID: PMC11895829, DOI: 10.1200/jco.24.00400.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsImmune checkpoint inhibitorsPatients treated with nivolumabOverall survivalNivolumab monotherapyMultivariate analysisPD-L1Advanced melanomaPD-L1 expression levelsFactors associated with decreased survivalLong-term overall survivalPresence of liver metastasesCox proportional multivariate analysisFactors associated with survivalLactate dehydrogenaseClinical factors associated with survivalPD-L1 expressionTreatment naive patientsMedian Follow-UpElevated lactate dehydrogenaseCompany-sponsored trialsAssociated with survivalUnresectable/metastatic melanomaCheckpoint inhibitorsOS ratesTreatment decision making758 GLIMMER-01: phase 1/2 trial of a first-in-class bi-sialidase (E-602) in combination with cemiplimab in patients with PD-(L)1-resistant solid tumors
Sharma M, Johnson M, Puzanov I, Sznol M, Mckean M, Gainor J, Spira A, Henick B, Tolcher A, Chen C, El-Khoueiry A, Broderick J, Peng L, Che J, Cao L, Wilson D, Lathers D, Horak C, Feltquate D, Luke J. 758 GLIMMER-01: phase 1/2 trial of a first-in-class bi-sialidase (E-602) in combination with cemiplimab in patients with PD-(L)1-resistant solid tumors. 2024, a862-a862. DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2024-sitc2024.0758.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsConceptsUltra-sensitive molecular residual disease detection through whole genome sequencing with single-read error correction
Li X, Liu T, Bacchiocchi A, Li M, Cheng W, Wittkop T, Mendez F, Wang Y, Tang P, Yao Q, Bosenberg M, Sznol M, Yan Q, Faham M, Weng L, Halaban R, Jin H, Hu Z. Ultra-sensitive molecular residual disease detection through whole genome sequencing with single-read error correction. EMBO Molecular Medicine 2024, 16: 2188-2209. PMID: 39164471, PMCID: PMC11393307, DOI: 10.1038/s44321-024-00115-0.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsConceptsMolecular residual diseaseCirculating tumor DNAWhole-genome sequencingCell-free DNAGenome sequenceDetection of molecular residual diseaseCirculating tumor DNA detectionResidual disease detectionConsistent with clinical outcomesVariant allele frequencyResidual diseaseMelanoma patientsMonitoring immunotherapyTumor DNAEsophageal cancerClinical outcomesColorectal cancerWGS technologiesAllele frequenciesCancerDNAAnalytical sensitivitySequenceImmunotherapyRelapseCauses of death and patterns of metastatic disease at the end of life for patients with advanced melanoma in the immunotherapy era
Lee D, McNamara M, Yang A, Yaskolko M, Kluger H, Tran T, Olino K, Clune J, Sznol M, Ishizuka J. Causes of death and patterns of metastatic disease at the end of life for patients with advanced melanoma in the immunotherapy era. Pigment Cell & Melanoma Research 2024, 37: 847-853. PMID: 39073002, PMCID: PMC11809125, DOI: 10.1111/pcmr.13188.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsSite of metastasisPattern of metastatic diseaseMelanoma mortalityRetrospective observational cohort studyCause of cancer mortalityDistant lymph nodesObservational cohort studyDiagnosis to deathImmunotherapy eraAdvanced melanomaMetastatic diagnosisMetastatic diseaseMetastatic melanomaImmunotherapy treatmentRespiratory failureCause of deathMedian timeLymph nodesTherapeutic advancesCohort studyMelanomaImmunotherapyMechanism of deathPatientsEnd of lifeA plasma-based proteomic platform for predicting clinical benefit from immune checkpoint inhibitors in multiple cancers.
Sela I, Lahav C, Lowenthal G, Harel M, Elon Y, Yellin B, Dicker A, Halaban R, Marte J, Sznol M, Gulley J. A plasma-based proteomic platform for predicting clinical benefit from immune checkpoint inhibitors in multiple cancers. Journal Of Clinical Oncology 2024, 42: 2568-2568. DOI: 10.1200/jco.2024.42.16_suppl.2568.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsNon-small cell lung cancerHPV-related cancersProgression-free survivalPre-treatment plasma samplesInhibitor-based therapySquamous cell carcinomaPD-(L)1Overall survivalCell carcinomaCancer typesClinical benefitImmune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-based therapyMetastatic non-small cell lung cancerHead and neck squamous cell carcinomaAnogenital squamous cell carcinomasHazard ratioPD-1 inhibitor monotherapyNeck squamous cell carcinomaMultivariate Cox proportional hazards modelPredicting clinical benefitImmune checkpoint inhibitorsECOG performance statusInhibitor combination therapyPlasma samplesKaplan-Meier methodCauses of death and patterns of metastatic disease at the end of life for patients with advanced melanoma in the immunotherapy era.
Lee D, Yang A, McNamara M, Kluger H, Tran T, Olino K, Clune J, Sznol M, Ishizuka J. Causes of death and patterns of metastatic disease at the end of life for patients with advanced melanoma in the immunotherapy era. Journal Of Clinical Oncology 2024, 42: e21522-e21522. DOI: 10.1200/jco.2024.42.16_suppl.e21522.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsImmune checkpoint inhibitorsYale Cancer CenterAdvanced melanomaMetastatic diseaseMetastatic melanomaRespiratory failureSite of metastatic diseasePattern of metastatic diseaseDied of respiratory failureAnti-CTLA4 treatmentRetrospective observational cohort studyAnti-PD1 therapyDistant lymph nodesPatients aged >Site of diseaseSurvival of patientsObservational cohort studyMulti-system involvementDiagnosis to deathImmunotherapy eraAnti-PD1Checkpoint inhibitorsInstitutional review boardMetastatic sitesMetastatic diagnosisImmunotherapy Initiation at the End of Life in Patients With Metastatic Cancer in the US
Kerekes D, Frey A, Prsic E, Tran T, Clune J, Sznol M, Kluger H, Forman H, Becher R, Olino K, Khan S. Immunotherapy Initiation at the End of Life in Patients With Metastatic Cancer in the US. JAMA Oncology 2024, 10: 342-351. PMID: 38175659, PMCID: PMC10767643, DOI: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2023.6025.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsNon-small cell lung cancerEnd of lifeMonth of deathImmunotherapy initiationCohort studyMAIN OUTCOMEStage IV non-small cell lung cancerCharlson-Deyo comorbidity indexHigh metastatic burdenInitiation of immunotherapyNational prescribing patternsRisk-adjusted patientsImmune checkpoint inhibitorsRetrospective cohort studyStage IV melanomaPercentage of patientsHigh-volume centersLocation of metastasesLow-volume centersOdds of deathCell lung cancerNational Clinical DatabaseLow-volume facilitiesDrug Administration approvalCheckpoint inhibitorsHow Far We’ve Come
Sznol M, Weber J. How Far We’ve Come. The Cancer Journal 2024, 30: 47-47. PMID: 38527256, DOI: 10.1097/ppo.0000000000000710.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchImmunotherapy utilization in stage IIIA melanoma: less may be more
Frey A, Kerekes D, Khan S, Tran T, Kluger H, Clune J, Ariyan S, Sznol M, Ishizuka J, Olino K. Immunotherapy utilization in stage IIIA melanoma: less may be more. Frontiers In Oncology 2024, 14: 1336441. PMID: 38380358, PMCID: PMC10876869, DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2024.1336441.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsStage IIIA melanomaHigh-volume centersRisk-adjusted survivalLow-volume centersImmunotherapy utilizationAdjuvant immunotherapyStage IIIATreatment of stage III melanomaAcademic centersMultivariable Cox proportional hazards regressionStage III melanomaNational Cancer DatabaseStage III diseaseFactors associated with receiptCox proportional hazards regressionCompare patient outcomesProportional hazards regressionIII melanomaImmunotherapy receiptReceiving immunotherapyIII diseaseImmunotherapy agentsOverall survivalSurvival benefitAdjuvant treatment
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- November 12, 2025
Twenty-Seven YSM Faculty Members Recognized for Highly Cited Research
- June 06, 2025
Yale Cancer Center Researchers and Trainees Present at 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting
- May 02, 2025
Immunotherapy: Balancing Cancer Treatment Benefits and Risks
- December 31, 2024
YCC Publications 2024
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