Clara N Curiel

Clara N Curiel

Director, Cutaneous Oncology Program
Division Chief, Dermatology
Member of the Graduate Faculty
Professor, BIO5 Institute
Professor, Medicine - (Tenure Track)
Primary Department
Department Affiliations
Contact
(520) 626-0307

Research Interest

Clara Curiel-Lewandroski, PhD, is the director of the Pigmented Lesion Clinic and Multidisciplinary Cutaneous Oncology Program, both part of the University of Arizona Cancer Center Skin Cancer Institute. She completed two research fellowships, the first in the Department of Dermatology at Harvard Medical School, and the second at the Ludwig Boltzman Institute and Immunobiology of the Skin at Miinster University in Germany. Dr. Curiel is certified by the American Board of Dermatology.Dr. Curiel-Lewandroski’s research focus is on melanoma chemoprevention, early detection of melanoma, cutaneous T cell lymphomas and skin cancer. She studied the extended use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, particularly aspirin, and their ability to possibly decrease the risk of cutaneous medanoma (CM) development. CM is responsible for more than 77 percent of skin cancer deaths.

Publications

Curiel-Lewandrowski, C., Nijsten, T., Gomez, M. L., Hollestein, L. M., Atkins, M. B., & Stern, R. S. (2011). Long-term use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs decreases the risk of cutaneous melanoma: results of a United States case-control study. The Journal of investigative dermatology, 131(7), 1460-8.

Experimental and observational studies continue to demonstrate conflicting results regarding the role of several commonly used drugs as melanoma chemopreventive agents. This case-control study was designed to assess the associations between cutaneous melanoma (CM) and exposure to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and statins in current users. A total of 400 CM and 600 eligible age- and gender-matched community-based controls were prospectively recruited and interviewed. We assessed participants' demographic characteristics, CM risk factors, and current and previous use of medications. Multivariable conditional logistic regression models were used to estimate adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for associations between NSAIDs and/or aspirin (ASA), statin exposure, and CM risk. Half of the subjects were men (mean age 60 years). After adjusting for confounders, use of any type of NSAIDs for more than 5 years significantly reduced the risk of melanoma development compared with the low-exposure group (adjusted OR=0.57; 95% CI=0.43-0.77). Subgroup analyses showed that the observed risk reduction was primarily driven by continuous ASA use (>5 years adjusted OR=0.51, 95% CI=0.35-0.75). No significant protective effect was observed with statin exposure (OR=0.97, 95% CI=0.73-1.29). Long-term use of NSAIDs, especially ASA, is associated with a significantly decreased risk of CM development. Clinical intervention studies are warranted to further investigate the potential role of ASA and other NSAIDs as chemopreventive agents for CM.

Richmond, J., Tuzova, M., Parks, A., Adams, N., Martin, E., Tawa, M., Morrison, L., Chaney, K., Kupper, T. S., Curiel-Lewandrowski, C., & Cruikshank, W. (2011). Interleukin-16 as a marker of Sézary syndrome onset and stage. Journal of clinical immunology, 31(1), 39-50.

Sézary syndrome is one of the most common forms of cutaneous T cell lymphoma (CTCL). It is characterized by skin infiltration of malignant T cells. We examined interleukin-16, a potent T cell chemoattractant and cell-cycle regulator, as a prospective marker of disease onset and stage.

Trofymenko, O., & Curiel-Lewandrowski, C. (2017). Surgical treatment associated with improved survival in patients with cutaneous angiosarcoma. Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology : JEADV.
Loescher, L. J., Crist, J. D., Cranmer, L., Curiel-Lewandrowski, C., & Warneke, J. A. (2009). Melanoma high-risk families' perceived health care provider risk communication. Journal of cancer education : the official journal of the American Association for Cancer Education, 24(4), 301-7.

Families with a melanoma history are at risk of melanoma. Melanoma survival improves when people are aware of their risk and ways to modify it. We explored at-risk families' perceived risk communication from healthcare providers.

Tuzova, M., Conniff, T., Curiel-Lewandrowski, C., Chaney, K., Cruikshank, W., & Wolpowitz, D. (2015). Absence of full-length neurokinin-1 receptor protein expression by cutaneous T cells: implications for substance P-mediated Signaling in Cutaneous T-cell Lymphoma. Acta dermato-venereologica, 95(7), 852-4.