Jennifer N Choi, MD
Professor, Dermatology; Feinberg School of Medicine
Research Program
Cancer-Focused Research
My clinical research has focused on characterizing the cutaneous side effects associated with chemotherapy and radiation. In particular, I have studied the cutaneous adverse events associated with immunotherapies, particularly the anti-PD-1 (programmed cell death receptor 1) therapies, including nivolumab and pembrolizumab, which is used for the treatment of metastatic melanoma, renal cell carcinoma, and nonsmall cell lung cancer. My team has characterized the clinical and histologic patterns seen in these cutaneous reactions, in addition to investigating a possible association with the concurrent administration of other medications that have been reported to cause lichenoid drug reactions. In addition, I am conducting several new clinical trials designed to identify effective preemptive strategies to reduce the incidence and/or severity of common chemotherapy-induced cutaneous side effects. One study is investigating the use of topical corticosteroids as a preemptive treatment to reduce or prevent severe papulopustular eruptions associated with EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) inhibitor therapy, which is commonly used in the treatment of lung, colon, and head and neck cancer.