# Michael R. Migden

Source: https://onco.cc/people/michael-migden/  
OnCo record `michael-migden` (Person). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Houston dermatologist who led the trials that established cemiplimab, the first drug approved for advanced cutaneous squamous-cell carcinoma, and sonidegib for basal cell carcinoma.

## Summary

Michael Migden is a dermatologist and Mohs surgeon at MD Anderson Cancer Center who runs trials of systemic therapy for non-melanoma skin cancer. He was first author of the 2018 New England Journal of Medicine report of cemiplimab in advanced cutaneous squamous-cell carcinoma (EMPOWER-CSCC 1 and its phase 1 expansion), which led to the first approval for this disease, and of the 2015 Lancet Oncology report of the BOLT trial of sonidegib in advanced basal cell carcinoma.

## Fields

- Kind: Person
- Last checked: 2026-09-18
- Tags: skin; immunotherapy; trialist
- Role: Dermatologist and Mohs surgeon, MD Anderson Cancer Center
- Specialisms: Cutaneous squamous-cell carcinoma; Basal cell carcinoma; Systemic therapy for skin cancer

## Connected records

- cancers: [Advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/advanced-cutaneous-scc/), [Locally advanced and metastatic basal cell carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/locally-advanced-bcc/), [Skin cancer (all types)](https://onco.cc/cancers/skin-cancer/)
- institutions: [MD Anderson Cancer Center](https://onco.cc/institutions/md-anderson/)
- key papers: [BOLT: two doses of sonidegib in locally advanced or metastatic basal cell carcinoma](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-bolt-sonidegib-migden-lancet-oncol-2015/), [PD-1 blockade with cemiplimab in advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (EMPOWER-CSCC-1)](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-empower-cscc-1-cemiplimab-migden-nejm-2018/)

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