Mario Sznol, MD
Emeritus FacultyDownloadHi-Res Photo
Cards
Additional Titles
Co-Director, Yale SPORE in Skin Cancer
Contact Info
About
Copy Link
Titles
Emeritus Faculty
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
EmeritusPrimary
Other Departments & Organizations
- Human and Translational Immunology Program
- Internal Medicine
- K12 Calabresi Immuno-Oncology Training Program (IOTP)
- Medical Oncology and Hematology
- SPORE in Skin Cancer
- 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
Copy Link
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
Antonella Bacchiocchi
Lucia Jilaveanu, MD, PhD
Scott Gettinger, MD
David Rimm, MD, PhD
161Publications
55,191Citations
Publications
2026
Bridging the gap: A systematic approach to integrating serum and plasma proteomic datasets for biomarker studies
Lahav C, Dahan N, Harel M, Elon Y, Sela I, Geyer P, Schneider M, Muley T, Bacchiocchi A, Marte J, Floudas C, Halaban R, Sznol M, Christopoulos P, Gulley J. Bridging the gap: A systematic approach to integrating serum and plasma proteomic datasets for biomarker studies. Journal Of Pharmaceutical And Biomedical Analysis 2026, 274: 117421. PMID: 41713118, PMCID: PMC13008497, DOI: 10.1016/j.jpba.2026.117421.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsClonal determinants of organotropism and survival in metastatic uveal melanoma
Jones B, Hammes E, Demkowicz P, Matesva M, Pointdujour-Lim R, Sinard J, Bacchiocchi A, Halaban R, Bosenberg M, Sznol M, Kluger H, Bakhoum M. Clonal determinants of organotropism and survival in metastatic uveal melanoma. Npj Precision Oncology 2026, 10: 68. PMID: 41582235, PMCID: PMC12913882, DOI: 10.1038/s41698-026-01274-8.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsUveal melanomaLiver metastasesClonality determinationPost-metastatic survivalMetastatic uveal melanomaPatterns of disseminationBAP1 lossExtrahepatic metastasesPrimary tumorIntraocular cancerMetastatic spreadMetastasisMolecular profilingPatient outcomesMelanomaLiverSurvivalIntraocularMonosomyTumorBAP1PatientsCancerOrganotropism
2025
Improving immunotherapy responses by dual inhibition of macrophage migration inhibitory factor and PD-1
Tran T, Sánchez-Zuno G, Osmani L, Caulfield J, Valdez C, Piecychna M, Leng L, Armstrong M, Donnelly S, Bifulco C, Clister T, Kulkarni R, Zhang L, Sznol M, Jilaveanu L, Kluger H, Kang I, Bucala R. Improving immunotherapy responses by dual inhibition of macrophage migration inhibitory factor and PD-1. JCI Insight 2025, 10: e191539. PMID: 41122966, PMCID: PMC12581657, DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.191539.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsAnti-PD-1Macrophage migration inhibitory factorAnti-MIFMigration inhibitory factorTumor growthTherapeutic efficacyAnti-programmed cell death 1Intratumoral immune cell populationsAssociated with advanced diseaseHigh-expression MIF allelesCell death 1Inhibitory factorTh1 cytokine levelsInhibition of macrophage migration inhibitory factorDual inhibitionMurine tumor modelsColorectal cancer modelImmune cell populationsTumor-bearing animalsClinical trial developmentMultiple cancer typesAntitumor responseDeath-1PD-1Tumor burden
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 makingUltra-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 lifeImmunotherapy 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 treatmentInterferon-stimulated neutrophils as a predictor of immunotherapy response
Benguigui M, Cooper T, Kalkar P, Schif-Zuck S, Halaban R, Bacchiocchi A, Kamer I, Deo A, Manobla B, Menachem R, Haj-Shomaly J, Vorontsova A, Raviv Z, Buxbaum C, Christopoulos P, Bar J, Lotem M, Sznol M, Ariel A, Shen-Orr S, Shaked Y. Interferon-stimulated neutrophils as a predictor of immunotherapy response. Cancer Cell 2024, 42: 253-265.e12. PMID: 38181798, PMCID: PMC10864002, DOI: 10.1016/j.ccell.2023.12.005.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsImmunotherapy responseNon-small cell lung cancerAnti-PD1 responseAnti-PD1 therapyCohort of patientsNon-responsive tumorsCell lung cancerAnti-cancer immunotherapyPre-clinical findingsBlood-borne biomarkersCytotoxic TLung cancerPredictive biomarkersCurrent biomarkersTreatment responseNeutrophilsLY6EBiomarkersActive biomarkersPatientsMiceFurther mechanistic understandingActivationResponseImmunotherapy
News & Links
Copy Link
News
- January 28, 2026
YCC Standout Research, Clinical Care, and Staff Support Recognized
- 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
Related Links
Get In Touch
Copy Link