Six OHSU Dermatology Faculty named "2021 Top Providers" by Portland Monthly

Congratulations to the OHSU Dermatology providers named "Top Doctors, Nurses and Physician Assistants of 2019":

• Elizabeth Berry, M.D.
• Nicole Fett, M.D.
• Tracy Funk, M.D.
• Sancy Leachman, M.D., Ph.D.
• Alex Ortega Loayza, M.D., M.C.R.
• Susan Tofte, F.N.P.

To learn about their methodology, view the entire list sorted by specialty, visit Portland Monthly.

Mohs micrographic surgery at OHSU was shown to be an effective treatment of melanoma as evidenced by low local recurrence rates and high melanoma-specific survival as part of a 10-year retrospective review. Residents Michael Heath, M.D., Meghan Woody, M.D., and biostatistician Emile Latour lead the research efforts in tandem with our Mohs team, evaluating local recurrence, 5-year recurrence-free survival, and 5-year melanoma-specific survival in 657 melanomas overall.

Read the full article.

A new report identifies several universal gaps in diagnosis and treatment of atopic dermatitis (AD) and suggests real-world interventions for improvement.

“I’ve never seen this done anywhere else in dermatology,” says Eric L. Simpson, M.D., M.C.R., professor of dermatology at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) and a member of the report’s steering committee. “It was a very ambitious goal — how to improve quality of care for patients with atopic dermatitis on a global scale.” 

Read full article.

Current resident Dr. Carter Haag, M.D., was awarded the Fellowship Award from the Melanoma Research Alliance, the largest non-profit funder of melanoma research. The award was given for Dr. Haag's project titled Multimedia Learning for Melanoma Prevention and Early Detection Education, and will result in a $35,000 grant to support an independent research or demonstration project focused on advancing melanoma prevention or early detection. Dr. Haag was one of 13 recipients. You can read the full press release here.

Dr. Haag's project is a specialty multimedia learning effort that will be used to bolster the War on Melanoma High School Outreach Program, a medical-student-led project to create and implement a melanoma skin cancer awareness and education curriculum across Oregon schools. To learn more about this project, or refer a teacher to request this curriculum, please visit the High School Outreach page.

"After six decades of practicing medicine, including more than 40 years at OHSU with 15 of those as the chair of dermatology in the School of Medicine, Frank Parker, M.D. is finally ready to hang up his dermatoscope.

Frank Parker was no stranger to inquiries about his retirement. After all, he began practicing internal medicine at the University of Washington in 1958. He’d been at OHSU since 1979 — serving first as the department chair until 1994 and subsequently as an instructor and physician." Read full story.

Dr. Eric Simpson provides insight on eczema for a National Institute of Health article Rash Decisions - How to Deal with Itchy, Red Skin

“I tell my patients that you were probably programmed from birth to be at risk for developing atopic dermatitis,” says Dr. Eric Simpson, a dermatologist at Oregon Health & Science University. Scientists estimate that the risk for eczema may be up to 60–70% genetic. But environmental causes also play a role. Read full article.

A new study led by researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah (U of U) and collaborators at Northwestern University (NW) and Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) investigated whether genetic testing would motivate people at risk of developing melanoma to alter their behavior in order to reduce their risk. The study was published in Genetics in Medicine. Read full story.

Melanoma incidence is increasing more rapidly than any other preventable cancer in the U.S. Survival rates for localized melanoma are >95% but are considerably lower when there is regional or distant spread of disease. Hence, there is interest in revisiting screening strategies for early detection of melanoma. This article describes a study in Oregon, known as the “War on Melanoma,” that is testing the hypothesis that an early detection campaign will reduce melanoma mortality by almost half. The study is based on an earlier pilot project in northern Germany (“SCREEN”), where screening produced a 50% reduction in melanoma mortality at 5 years after the program.  

Read full article (Medpagetoday; ASCO).

Congratulations to the OHSU Dermatology providers named "Top Doctors, Nurses and Physician Assistants of 2019":

• Sancy Leachman, M.D., Ph.D.
• Eric Simpson, M.D., M.C.R.
• Tracy Funk, M.D.
• Heather Onoday, F.N.P.
• Kim Sanders, P.A.-C.
• Susan Tofte, F.N.P.

Learn more.

Dr. Eric Simpson, Professor and Director of Clinical Research, was lead author on the newly published New England Journal of Medicine article for his work on an international Phase III trial for a potentially groundbreaking atopic dermatitis drug. 

“We now have a promising new option for patients whose quality of life was severely diminished by their disease,” said Eric Simpson, M.D., M.C.R., director of the clinical studies unit in OHSU’s dermatology department and lead author on the study. “Additional clinical trials are needed to explore whether long-term use of dupilumab is safe, but it represents a potential new approach for our patients who have suffered without good options for far too long.”

Read the full press release here.

Oregonians enjoying spring weather may not know it, but they’re in the middle of a “war on melanoma.”

It was started by Oregon Health And Science University back in 2014 — mainly because Oregon has one of the worst rates of skin cancer in the nation.

On Saturday, the university and the Knight Cancer Institute hope to recruit a legion of new foot soldiers at the Portland Skincare Festival. Scientists want hair dressers, makeup artists, masseurs, electrologists, nail technicians and tattoo artists — anyone whose job involves looking at skin — to tell their clients to see a doctor, when they see a suspicious blemish in the course of work.

Read the full article (OPB)

"The season also signals the return of tanks, shorts and sandals as everyday attire. As liberating as all of these things are, they also increase our vulnerability to sunburns. Of course, anyone who's stared at a shelf full of sunscreens at Fred Meyer or Target knows shopping for the stuff can be a baffling ordeal.

That's why The Oregonian/OregonLive reached out to Dr. Sancy Leachman, chairwoman and professor at Oregon Health and Science University's Department of Dermatology. "

Read full article (Oregonian).

PORTLAND, Ore. — 

I felt like Frankenstein with a bulging arm, all sewn up. My husband — relieved it was over — quickly snapped a picture of my unsure smile, and I sent it to my worried parents, siblings, and best friend, Angela, with the caption, “I’m going to have a big scar!”

She responded, “It’s a beautiful scar, I get to keep you longer.”

Gulp.

She’s right. My new cut, which would soon scar over, is my daily reminder of how lucky I am. It’s a two-inch line down my arm — my new line of gratitude — because what was there, was melanoma.

Read full article (KATU)

Mole mapping, the process of charting your moles through regular skin checks, has just gotten easier—and potentially more reliable—thanks to MoleMapper. The app, which is free and available on iTunes, allows users to map, measure and monitor moles with the help of an iPhone camera and digitally share these images with a doctor.

“Being vigilant about your moles – the size, shape, color, and patterns—is the best way to catch melanoma when it's most treatable and a cure is likely,” says Sancy Leachman, MD, Ph.D., director of the melanoma research program at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) in Portland.

Read full article (Popular Science).