Prof. Daniela Massi

Daniela Massi, MD, PhD, is Professor of Pathology and Director of the Division of Histopathology and Molecular Diagnostics at the University Careggi Hospital Florence. Member of the expert group for the World Health Organization Classification of Skin Tumours 5th edition, member of the Committee of the International Collaboration on Cancer Reporting (ICCR), responsible for global melanoma reporting. In 2026, Expert Panel Member of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) Staging System V9 for Melanoma of the Skin. Her research focus is the identification of tissue biomarkers and the pharmacological modulation of the tumour microenvironment in melanoma patients.

Prof. Daniela Massi

is supervising

Why SPACE-MEL?

SPACE-MEL represents an important step towards strengthening international collaboration in melanoma research and training the next generation of researchers. By bringing together multidisciplinary expertise, innovative technologies and young scientists, the project has the potential to advance our understanding of melanoma and translate research findings into improved patient care.

Publications

Tasdogan A, et al. Cutaneous melanoma. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2025 Apr 3;11(1):23. doi: 10.1038/s41572-025-00603-8.

Mandalà M, et al. Tumour microenvironment heterogeneity in primary and metastatic paired melanoma samples and its correlation with genetic features and prognosis. Eur J Cancer. 2025 Oct 16;229:115755. doi: 10.1016/j.ejca.2025.115755.

De Logu F, et al. Spatial Proximity and Relative Distribution of Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes and Macrophages Predict Survival in Melanoma. Lab Invest. 2023. doi: 10.1016/j.labinv.2023.100259.

Hench J, et al. Clinical, histopathological and molecular features of dedifferentiated melanomas: An EORTC Melanoma Group Retrospective Analysis. Eur J Cancer. 2023. doi: 10.1016/j.ejca.2023.03.032.

Massi D et al. Impact of second opinion pathology review in the diagnosis and management of atypical melanocytic lesions: A prospective study of the Italian Melanoma Intergroup (IMI) and EORTC Melanoma Group. Eur J Cancer. 2023. doi: 10.1016/j.ejca.2023.05.009.

Elder DE, et al. The 2018 World Health Organization Classification of Cutaneous, Mucosal, and Uveal Melanoma: Detailed Analysis of 9 Distinct Subtypes Defined by Their Evolutionary Pathway. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2020 Apr;144(4):500-522. doi:10.5858/arpa.2019-0561-RA.

Massi D, et al. The density and spatial tissue distribution of CD8+ and CD163+ immune cells predict response and outcome in melanoma patients receiving MAPK inhibitors. J Immunother Cancer. 2019. doi: 10.1186/s40425-019-0797-4.