Westmead Dermatology Striving towards disease-free skin
My name is Linda and I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself as the newest member of the research office at the Westmead Centre for Translational Skin Research. My research interests are oncodermatology, systemic therapy for severe cutaneous diseases and quality of life in patients with skin conditions. I am very much …
Hidradenitis suppurativa is an inflammatory skin disease affecting apocrine bearing areas such as the axillae and groin, characterised by recurrent discharging abscesses and sinuses, inflammatory nodules and scarring. The Westmead Dermatology Department is currently recruiting patients with HS for a phase 2 study evaluating the efficacy of bimekizumab in patients with moderate to severe hidradenitis …
On the 2nd of December, we have successfully held our first “Skin effects of systemic anti-cancer therapies” education day at Westmead Hospital. Education is one of the missions of the CTSR (Centre for Translational Skin Research), and were sharing our knowledge regarding the diagnosis and management of skin effects of systemic oncology medications with dermatologists, …
Shelley Hwang has just received a copy of the book Adverse Reactions to Biologics that includes her chapter on the monoclonal antibodies used in Melanoma patients: ipilimumab, nivolumab and pembrolizumab. Shelley is one of the CTSR experts in the cutaneous effects of checkpoint inhibitors used in patients with cancers.
Naevus lightening is a fascinating phenomenon found in patients on BRAF inhibitors and MEK inhibitors combination therapy (BiMiC) and checkpoint immunotherapy. We have recently published a study unravelling the mystery underlining this phenomenon. We biopsied 7 lightened naevi from metastatic melanoma patients on either BiMiC or checkpoint immunotherapy such as pembrolizumab. Under the microscope, we …
The Department of Dermatology at Westmead Hospital hit the headlines in Western Sydney Local Health District. Dr Bruno Blaya Alvarez has been presented with the 2017 “Registrar of the Year” award. Bruno arrived from Spain in March this year, and he’s completing a 2-year up-skill program in our Unit. It is amazing how well Bruno …
Sequential Windowed Acquisition of All Theoretical Fragment Ion Mass Spectra (SWATH) is one of the premier mass spectrometry acquisition strategies for identification and quantitation of proteins in a complex sample. Unlike other mass spectrometry strategies, SWATH technique allows comprehensive detection and quantitation of virtually every detectable analyte in a sample. Crossmatching these analytes with an …
The main treatment of cancer is still surgery, but, for some cancers, medical treatment offers a important alternative. In Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC), the use of imiquimod for superficial BCC is well stablished and approved in many countries. Recently, in Australia, another molecule, vismodegib, has been approved for the treatment of BCC. In this case, …
Our Research Units at Westmead Hospital and the Skin & Cancer Foundation Australia have come together in the Centre for Translational Skin Research under the umbrella of the University of Sydney. We have added to our blog, Westmead Dermatology, a Facebook page. We encourage you to visit our new page. This website will help our …
Our department feels privileged to have another oncodermatology publication in the Australasian Journal of Dermatology titled: “Epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor‐induced papulopustular eruption successfully treated with low‐dose oral dapsone”. Patients on EGFR inhibitors frequently develop cutaneous adverse events including papulopustular eruptions (also known as acneiform eruptions), hair loss and xerosis. This is a paper about …
