Purpose of the C-NeST Pilot Projects:

The Canadian Network of Skin Trials (C-NeST) is a body within SkIN Canada tasked with facilitating multicentre clinical studies. The C-NeST Management Committee has identified several avenues to bolster clinical and translational research including:

• Facilitating partnerships between community and academic researchers and patients
• Creating a legal framework that streamlines the contracts review process between research sites.
• Developing a shared library of data collection forms that researchers can use for future

To guide the development of this infrastructure and test the feasibility of these resources, the C-NeST Management Committee is conducting two pilot projects in collaboration with patient research partners and investigators across Canada.

Effect of allergy testing on atopic dermatitis in adults – EAT-AD

Principal investigators:

Dr. Irina Turchin
Dr. Aaron Drucker

There is a significant amount of uncertainty around the relationship between atopic dermatitis (eczema) and allergies, particularly whether identifying and managing allergies can alleviate the symptoms of the condition. Some experts recommend that patch testing for allergic contact dermatitis be considered for all patients who do not experience benefits from topical therapies.

A clinical trial in the UK is investigating if young children with atopic dermatitis who receive food allergy testing have better outcomes than children that were never tested. While it is sure to be an impactful study, the result will not be applicable to adults and will not provide information on the benefit of testing for environmental or contact allergies.

The C-NeST Management Committee sees opportunity for Canadian researchers to study the effect of food, environmental and contact allergy testing on atopic dermatitis severity in adults with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis. As one of its pilot projects, the committee is conducting a survey to evaluate current practices regarding allergy testing for adults with atopic dermatitis and patient interest in participating in studies of allergy testing. They will do so by surveying dermatologists and adults with atopic dermatitis in Canada.

If you are a clinician or patient interested in taking the survey, please email omer.kleiner@wchospital.ca.

Follow-up of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma  – FOCS

Principal investigators:

Dr. Nicole Hawkins
Dr. An-Wen Chan

People who have had squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) are at a high risk of developing further skin cancer. National guidelines recommend that  these patients undergo follow-up skin exams to monitor for recurrence and metastasis. However, there is no consensus on how often patients with SCC should receive follow-up exams, and little is known about the current practices among dermatologists.

The FOCS pilot project is a multicentre, retrospective cohort study of patients diagnosed with SCC by community and academic dermatologists across Canada. A brief chart review will provide data on tumour characteristics and follow-up frequency of patients at each site. The C-NeST Management Committee believes a better understanding of current practice patterns in Canada would help inform the development of optimal follow-up guidelines based on evidence from future clinical trials.

If you are a dermatologist interested in joining this chart review, please email omer.kleiner@wchospital.ca.