Katie Shahwan, MD, FAAD, an Associate Professor in the Division of Dermatologic Surgery, with co-investigators Andrea Tan, MD and David R. Carr, MD, MPH, is focusing her research on cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC), which is the second most common type of skin cancer. “While most CSCCs are low-risk and curable with surgical removal, a small subset is high risk and cause poor outcomes including metastasis and death,” says Shahwan.
This project was developed to detect perineural invasion (PNI), a high-risk feature that upstages tumors and has been independently associated with poor disease outcomes, so it is critical to accurately ad reliably detect PNI when it is present. In using Mohs surgery, a layer-by-layer removal of tissue and careful examination of cells under a microscope, this research team is testing to see how reliably Mohs surgeons can detect PNI on Mohs micrographic surgery slides.
“We plan to have a group of Mohs surgeons from across the United States evaluate a set of CSCC slides and record PNI, including whether it is present, the size and the number and depth of the involved nerves. We will then use kappa statistics to evaluate the intra-rater and inter-rater reliability.
Shahwan plans to use her Spark Award funding for statistical analysis for the project. “We are very grateful for the opportunity and look forward to sharing our findings.”
Congratulations to Katie Shahwan on receiving a Spark Award and using it to reliably detect PNI and change the course of how CSCC is treated. If you are interested in applying for a Spark Award, applications are being accepted on a rolling basis until April 15, 2025, or until funds are exhausted. For more information, visit go.osu.edu/spark2025.
Julie Johnson, PharmD, is the Director and Principal Investigator at The Ohio State University Clinical and Translational Science Institute.