Melissa P. Pulitzer, MD

A board-certified attending pathologist and dermatopathologist, I am a nationally and internationally recognized expert in the diagnosis of skin cancer and cancer-related inflammatory skin disease.

My primary area of diagnostic and research interest is the clinical and pathologic characterization of cutaneous lymphoma (CL), a group of cancers of white blood cells which occur in the skin. Other areas of diagnostic expertise include keratinocytic and neuroendocrine carcinomas, melanocytic neoplasia, skin adnexal neoplasms, and cutaneous histiocytic disorders.

As the lead cutaneous lymphoma pathologist in our group, I work closely with my MSK dermatology, hematology, radiation oncology, and hematopathology colleagues in the diagnosis, management, and study of these complex diseases. I participate in single and multi-institutional studies and workshops with other CL referral centers. I contribute extensively to education in the CL field through clinical and pathology reviews, lectures, and book chapters, and have authored or co-authored numerous original research publications. I also have given many lectures and microscopic workshops nationally and internationally. I am strongly committed to mentoring junior colleagues and trainees to develop the skills to better care for our patients through diagnostic acumen and critical thinking. This is accomplished in part through my role as Associate Director of the Dermatopathology Fellowship Program, and in part through extensive interdepartmental translational research support and visiting student/fellow project mentoring.

Another important area of research interest for me is the study of Merkel Cell carcinoma (MCC), a primary cutaneous neuroendocrine carcinoma. In this area, I have worked to define differences between variants of MCC, in order to help develop clinical recognition and biopsy recommendations, and to suggest potential treatment approaches.

Ongoing collaborations with dermatology and oncology colleagues include the identification and characterization of new patterns of skin reactions in response to therapies that challenge traditional paradigms in diagnosis. This work is important in helping pathologists and clinicians to understand the evolving landscape of drug reactions in the era of personalized medicine, and to appropriately treat patients. I work with colleagues in skin imaging by helping to correlate histopathologically identified structures, in cancer and benign tissue, with comparable structures visualized by techniques such as dermoscopy and confocal microscopy to improve diagnostic capabilities of those techniques. This work helps reduce unnecessary invasive procedures on patients, and helps identify diagnostic pitfalls encountered in these technologies, reducing misdiagnosis of cancer.