David X. Zheng

Massachusetts General Hospital | MGH · Department of Medicine

Trends in outpatient dermatology appointment wait times for United States (US) veterans are poorly characterized. Given concerns surrounding prolonged wait times at Veterans Health Administration (VHA) medical facilities, the federal government introduced the Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening Outside Networks (MISSION) Act in 2018, all...

The advent of immune checkpoint inhibition has revolutionized treatment of advanced melanoma. While most patients derive survival benefit from established immunotherapies, notably monoclonal antibodies blocking cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 and programmed cell death protein 1, a subset does not optimally respond due to the manifestation of innat...

Sun protection has become popular within mainstream culture. A common way for people to obtain information on sun protection and monitor their sun exposure is through mobile applications (apps). Our study focuses on the popularity and utility of ultraviolet (UV) index apps. Data on UV app popularity, rating, pricing, and functionality was collected...

We report a case of eosinophilic fasciitis in a teenage auto mechanic who was most likely affected by occupational exposure to organic solvents, including the aromatic hydrocarbons benzene, trimethylbenzene, naphthalene, toluene, and xylene. The patient presented with an 8-month history of painful induration of his extremities and an abnormal gait....

Background: Melanomas <0.8 mm in Breslow depth have less than 5% risk for nodal positivity. Nonetheless, nodal positivity is prognostic for this group. Early identification of nodal positivity may improve outcomes for these patients. Objectives: To determine the degree to which ulceration and other high-risk features predict sentinel lymph node...

Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is an important staging and prognostic tool for cutaneous melanoma (CM). However, there exists a knowledge gap regarding whether sociodemographic characteristics are associated with receipt of SLNB for T1b CMs, for which there are no definitive recommendations for SLNB per current National Comprehensive Cancer Netw...

Metastatic spinal melanoma is a rare and aggressive disease process with poor prognosis. We review the literature on metastatic spinal melanoma, focusing on its epidemiology, management, and treatment outcomes. Demographics of metastatic spinal melanoma are similar to those for cutaneous melanoma, and cutaneous primary tumors tend to be most common...

Interest in subspecialty training remains high for dermatology residency graduates. Fellowship program directors are largely responsible for fellowship organization and development. Here, we study the dermatology fellowship leadership landscape and identify notable differences in the characteristics of current dermatopathology, pediatric dermatolog...

In this analysis of the National Health Interview Survey, Americans of lower socioeconomic status, who are unmarried, and with comorbidities were found to be at higher odds of severe psychological distress. Our findings may inform targeted support-based psycho-oncological interventions, such as shared medical appointments with other at-risk skin ca...

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare and frequently lethal skin cancer with neuroendocrine characteristics. MCC can originate from either the presence of MCC polyomavirus (MCPyV) DNA or chronic ultraviolet (UV) exposure that can cause DNA mutations. MCC is predominant in sun-exposed regions of the body and can metastasize to regional lymph nodes,...

Survival outcomes for metastatic melanoma have drastically improved with the advent of immunotherapy. Access to ongoing immunotherapy clinical trials has become increasingly important to patients with advanced disease. We sought to quantify geographic disparities in access to these trials by U.S. division, region, urban/rural status, and median inc...

Given limited information about patient experiences with cultural competency within dermatology, we sought to characterize the perception of culturally competent care among skin cancer patients in the United States. We used the 2017 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) to identify a sample of patients with skin cancer and analyzed responses to t...

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third leading cause of cancer mortality. Early detection of HCC is important since potentially curative therapies exist in the initial stages of HCC; no curative therapies exist for late-stage HCC. However, the initial detection of HCC remains challenging due to the lack of symptoms during the early stage of th...

Dear Editor, In the USA, medical students from allopathic [Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree‐granting] and osteopathic [Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degree‐granting] medical schools may apply to the same specialty training (i.e. residency) programmes for postgraduate training. Despite holding different degrees, MD and DO graduates are similar:...

Our objective was to examine the prevalence and predictors of delayed medical care due to transportation barriers among children with atopic dermatitis (AD) living in the United States (US). We analyzed data from the 1998–2018 National Health Interview Survey, a nationally representative survey of US households. In 2018, transport‐delayed care was...

Purpose To assess the availability and content of fellowship program Web sites (FPWs) among ophthalmology subspecialties. Design This is a cross-sectional study. Subjects Web sites of all Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology-accredited fellowship programs in five subspecialties (i.e., surgical retina and vitreous; cornea, external...

Dear Editor, We enjoyed reading the recent qualitative reviews by O'Connor et al., published recently in Clinical and Experimental Dermatology, on the subject of misinformation and conspiracy theories surrounding two highly prevalent skin conditions, acne vulgaris¹ and skin cancer.² We would like to continue this important conversation by providing...

Dear Editor, Food insecurity, defined as a lack of consistent, dependable access to food, is associated with various poor health outcomes, including greater odds of hospitalization.¹ Previous research has linked food insecurity and paediatric atopic dermatitis (AD), suggesting that food insecurity may play a role in the development of AD, or exacer...

Background: Labiaplasty is an increasingly popular procedure performed for both cosmetic and pathologic etiologies. Questions have been raised regarding the efficacy of the procedure, especially for cosmetic etiologies. Objectives: To examine the complication profiles of labiaplasties for both cosmetic and pathologic etiologies. Methods: The 2...

Dear Editor, We enjoyed reading the recent article in Clinical and Experimental Dermatology by Hussain et al., in which the authors discuss the importance of mentorship for fostering clinical skills of dermatology trainees.¹ In reply, Butt and Butt insightfully explored the complexity of the mentor–mentee relationship, reminding us that mentors not...

Background Patients often utilize the Internet to seek information related to their care. This study assesses the readability of online patient educational materials for submental fat reduction.Methods Patient educational materials from the 12 most popular websites related to submental fat reduction were downloaded and assessed for readability grad...

Background: Nail squamous cell carcinoma (nSCC) is the most common nail unit malignancy. However, no studies to date have evaluated treatment options for nSCC based on recurrence data while controlling for invasion. Objective: To identify temporal trends in nSCC treatment modalities and compare treatment outcomes based on invasion. Methods and...

Introduction The American Society for Dermatologic Surgery (ASDS) established a cosmetic dermatologic surgery fellowship in 2013. Programs often outline details of fellowships on their websites to help prospective applicants make informed decisions. Our primary goal was to evaluate the content quality of online information for all ASDS-accredited c...

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), also known as acne inversa, is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that significantly impairs quality of life. There are high direct and indirect financial burdens associated with HS, which may compel patients to turn to online crowdfunding for assistance covering HS-related costs. Crowdfunding is the financing of a s...

Introduction: Melanoma brain metastases remain a devastating disease process with poor prognosis. Recently, there has been a surge in studies demonstrating the efficacy of oncolytic virotherapy for brain tumor treatment. Given their specificity and amenability to genetic modification, the authors explore the possible role of oncolytic virotherapy...

The COVID‐19 pandemic has broadly affected medical education, including the United States (U.S.) 2020‐2021 National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) dermatology application cycle. While in‐person dermatology rotations were permitted at students’ school‐affiliated home institutions, rotations at other institutions were largely suspended and intervie...

Although dermatology is one of the most competitive specialties to match into, there is limited transparency in the residency match process. In this retrospective cohort study of 2234 allopathic medical graduates, we identify applicant characteristics associated with matching into research oriented dermatology programs. Many of the statistically si...

image This study identified two infant AD case definitions that were strongly associated with known AD risk factors. These case definitions can be used to study novel AD risk factors in large cohort studies, potentially providing new insights into the epidemiology of infant AD.

BACKGROUND Bronchiolitis is the leading cause of hospitalization for US infants. Blood eosinophil and serum specific IgE (sIgE) levels are separately linked to clinical severity but few studies have examined these biomarkers together. OBJECTIVE Among infants hospitalized for bronchiolitis, we investigated the association between 1) blood eosinophi...

Importance According to the National Residency Matching Program’s biennial Charting Outcomes in the Match (NRMP ChOM) reports, the mean number of research items of matched allopathic dermatology applicants has nearly tripled since 2007, rising from 5.7 to 14.7. Research items are self-reported by applicants and serve as an approximation of research...

Background: Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) primary site has been incompletely investigated as a potential prognostic factor. Objective: To determine the incidence of MCC disease-specific death by tumor primary site. Methods: Retrospective analysis of the Survival, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database (1973-2016). MCC patients were groupe...

Public cancer databases, such as the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program, are increasingly used for cutaneous oncology research.¹ However, coding discrepancies among staging variables in SEER data may inaccurately estimate patient outcomes.² The objective of this cohort study was to explore inconsi...

Knowledge regarding the inpatient burden of scabies is limited, as previous studies have focused on epidemiologic trends in the outpatient setting. Using the National Inpatient Sample to identify sociodemographic factors associated with scabies in hospitalized patients, we found that patients who were aged 40 to 64, male, homeless, Medicaid-insured...

We enjoyed reading Roche et al.’s recent article published in Clinical and Experimental Dermatology, in which the authors discussed the potential for propagation of false, misleading, or harmful dermatologic information on TikTok.1 In reply, Nikookam and Guckian provided an interesting perspective regarding TikTok’s potential for education in derma...

Objective: To investigate the relationship between socioeconomic factors and bronchiolitis severity among hospitalized infants. Methods: We performed a 17-center, prospective cohort study from 2011 to 2014. Children <1 year old hospitalized with bronchiolitis were enrolled. Socioeconomic factors included estimated median household income (MHI) p...

Carbon-11-labeled bivalent β-carbolines, 9,9'-(pentane-1,5-diyl)bis(2-[(11)C]methyl-9H-pyrido[3,4-b]indol-2-ium)iodide ([(11)C]2a), 9,9'-(nonane-1,9-diyl)bis(2-[(11)C]methyl-9H-pyrido[3,4-b]indol-2-ium)iodide ([(11)C]2b), 9,9'-(dodecane-1,12-diyl)bis(2-[(11)C]methyl-9H-pyrido[3,4-b]indol-2-ium)iodide ([(11)C]2c) and 1,9-bis(2-[(11)C]methyl-3,4-dihy...

Carbon-11-labeled tariquidar derivatives were first designed and synthesized as new PET agents for imaging of breast cancer resistance protein. The target tracers were prepared by O-[(11)C]methylation of their corresponding acid precursors using [(11)C]CH3OTf under basic conditions and isolated by a simplified solid-phase extraction (SPE) method in...