Introduction and Mission

Kyushu University is one of seven representative universities in Japan (University of Tokyo, Kyoto University, Kyushu University, Osaka University, Nagoya University, Tohoku University and Hokkaido University). The Department of Dermatology, Kyushu University was founded in 1906.
Dermatologic disorders bring physical, psychological, cosmetic, social and economic burdens to the afflicted patients. They also markedly deteriorate patients’ quality of life. As one of the oldest core departments, our department has grown to provide cutting-edge, innovative and safe, specialized dermatologic care and therapies to improve patients’ symptoms and quality of life.
Our mission is sustained leadership in patient care, in research, and in training leaders in the dermatology specialty through first-rate clinical service, education and training, as well as basic research. We have widely recognized strengths in many clinical areas, including melanoma and other skin cancers, various inflammatory skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis and psoriasis, and infectious diseases such as fungal, bacterial and viral skin diseases.
Our second mission is to care for Yusho patients. More than 2,000 people in western Japan were exposed to high levels of dioxins by eating contaminated rice bran oil in 1968, and their dioxin blood levels remain high even now. They still suffer various dioxin-related symptoms. We run the “Research and Clinical Center for Yusho and Dioxin” to provide a health care system for Yusho patients with support from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, as well as the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Dioxins exert their toxic response via the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR). We are engaged in the innovation and development of new drugs to treat dioxin poisoning through pathophysiologic basic research on AHR.

Information for Patients

Outpatient Clinic

Before visiting our hospital, please visit your local clinic and/or hospital for initial consultation. An initial appointment at our hospital can be made through a local medical institution.
*For overseas residents seeking medical care at our hospital, the “National University Hospital Medical Cooperation Network” supports smooth and secure consultation and treatment.
https://network.ipac.kyushu-u.ac.jp/english/

Consultation day: appointment required

〇First visit: Mon/Wed/Fri 8:30–11:00,
〇Revisit: Tues/Thurs 8:30–12:00
〇Specialized Outpatients: afternoon of each designated day, revisit only
1) Laser treatment: Mon.
2) Atopic dermatitis: Mon./Wed.
3) Pressure ulcer: Tues.
4) Skin tumor and dermatologic surgery: Wed./Fri.
5) Yusho: Wed.
6) Fungus disease: Thurs.
7) Plastic surgery: Thurs.
　
Diseases we routinely manage include atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, urticaria, collagen diseases, hair disorders, fungus diseases, burn, benign and malignant skin tumors. Biologics for psoriasis, atopic dermatitis and urticaria can be used.

Inpatient Clinic

The Department of Dermatology has 20 inpatient beds. Approximately 300 patients undergo surgery under general anesthesia every year in our department. Malignant tumors include melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, extramammary Paget’s disease, sebaceous carcinoma, Merkel cell carcinoma, angiosarcoma, dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans, miscellaneous adnexal carcinomas, soft tissue sarcomas and lymphoma. Patients may receive sentinel lymph node biopsy and completion lymph node dissection, if necessary. Large skin defects may be reconstructed with skin grafting and musculocutaneous flaps. Patients with metastatic diseases of melanoma may receive immune checkpoint inhibitors and BRAF/MEK inhibitors. In addition, we treat many benign and inflammatory skin diseases such as pemphigus, pemphigoid, severe atopic dermatitis, severe psoriasis and severe alopecia universalis.

Research Focus

Prof. Masutaka Furue (Retiring on March 31, 2021) manages all the research groups. His main research fields are atopic dermatitis and Yusho (dioxin poisoning). More than 750 English articles of his are listed in PubMed as of October 30, 2020. His latest publications on pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis and Yusho are as follows.

◎Furue M. Regulation of Skin Barrier Function via Competition between AHR Axis versus IL-13/IL-4?JAK?STAT6/STAT3 Axis: Pathogenic and Therapeutic Implications in Atopic Dermatitis. J Clin Med. 2020; 9:3741.

◎Furue M. Regulation of Filaggrin, Loricrin, and Involucrin by IL-4, IL-13, IL-17A, IL-22, AHR, and NRF2: Pathogenic Implications in Atopic Dermatitis. Int J Mol Sci. 2020; 21:5382.

◎Onozuka D, Nakamura Y, Tsuji G, Furue M. Mortality in Yusho patients exposed to polychlorinated biphenyls and polychlorinated dibenzofurans: a 50-year retrospective cohort study. Environ Health. 2020; 19:119.

Dr. Takeshi Nakahara manages a research group on inflammatory skin diseases such as psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. He conducts not only basic research, but also considerable clinical research to determine the pathogenesis of inflammatory skin diseases and improve related therapeutic effects. His latest publications are as follows.

◎Nakahara T, Kido-Nakahara M, Tsuji G, Furue M. Basics and recent advances in the pathophysiology of atopic dermatitis. J Dermatol. 2020 Oct 29. doi: 10.1111/1346-8138.15664.

◎Nakahara T, Izuhara K, Furue M. Exploration of biomarkers to predict clinical improvement of atopic dermatitis in patients treated with dupilumab: A study protocol. Medicine (Baltimore). 2020 Sep 18; 99(38):e22043.

◎Nakahara T, Kido-Nakahara M, Ulzii D, Miake S, Fujishima K, Sakai S, Chiba T, Tsuji G, Furue M. Topical application of endothelin receptor a antagonist attenuates imiquimod-induced psoriasiform skin inflammation. Sci Rep. 2020 Jun 11;10(1):9510. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-66490-z.

◎Nakahara T, Fujita H, Arima K, Taguchi Y, Motoyama S, Furue M. Treatment satisfaction in atopic dermatitis relates to patient-reported severity: A cross-sectional study. Allergy. 74(6):1179?1181, 2019.

Dr. Gaku Tsuji organizes a research group on the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR). His research interests involve AHR-mediated transcriptional networks in skin immunity and barrier function. He is engaged in research on establishing a treatment for Yusho (dioxin poisoning), psoriasis and atopic dermatitis using an AHR modulator. His latest publications are as follows.

◎ Tsuji G*, Hashimoto-Hachiya A, Yen VH, Miake S, Takemura M, Mitamura Y, Ito T, Murata M, Furue M, Nakahara T. Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Activation Downregulates IL-33 Expression in Keratinocytes via Ovo-Like 1. J Clin Med. 2020 Mar 24; 9(3):891. doi:10.3390/jcm9030891.

◎ Tsuji G*, Hashimoto-Hachiya A, Yen VH, Takemura M, Yumine A, Furue K, Furue M, Nakahara T. Metformin inhibits IL-1β secretion via impairment of NLRP3 inflammasome in keratinocytes: implications for preventing the development of psoriasis. Cell Death Discov. 2020 Mar 4; 6:11. doi: 10.1038/s41420-020-0245-8. eCollection 2020.

◎ Miake S, Tsuji G*, Takemura M, Hashimoto-Hachiya A, Vu YH, Furue M, Nakahara T. IL-4 Augments IL-31/IL-31 Receptor Alpha Interaction Leading to Enhanced Ccl 17 and Ccl 22 Production in Dendritic Cells: Implications for Atopic Dermatitis. Int J Mol Sci. 2019 Aug 20; 20(16):4053. doi: 10.3390/ijms20164053.

Dr. Makiko Kido-Nakahara manages a research group on atopic dermatitis and pruritus. She has been interested in the mechanisms and evaluation methods of itching, with the pathophysiology of atopic dermatitis as a research theme. Her latest publication are as follows.

◎Kido-Nakahara M, Wang B, Ohno F, Tsuji G, Ulzii D, Takemura M, Furue M, Nakahara T. Inhibition of mite-induced dermatitis, pruritus, and nerve sprouting in mice by the endothelin receptor antagonist bosentan. Allergy. 2020 Jun 14. doi: 10.1111/all.14451.

◎Kido-Nakahara M, Nakahara T, Yasukochi Y, Ulzii D, Furue M. Patient-Oriented Eczema Measure score: A Useful Tool for Web-Based Surveys in Patients with Atopic Dermatitis. Acta Derm Venereol. 2020 May 28; 100(10):adv00159.

◎Ulzii D, Kido-Nakahara M, Nakahara T, Tsuji G, Furue K, Hashimoto-Hachiya A, Furue M. Scratching Counteracts IL-13 Signaling by Upregulating the Decoy Receptor IL-13Rα2 in Keratinocytes. Int J Mol Sci. 2019 Jul 6; 20(13):3324.

Dr. Takamichi Ito manages a research group on melanoma and other skin neoplasms. He focuses on novel transcription factors OVOL1 and OVOL2 in the pathogenesis of skin tumors. He also interested in NECTIN4 in skin tumor progression. His latest publications are as follows.

◎Murata M, Ito T*, Yamamura K, Hashimoto-Hachiya A, Furue K, Furue M. OVOL2-mediated ZEB1 downregulation may prevent promotion of actinic keratosis to squamous cell carcinoma. J Clin Med2020;9(3):618. Published 2020 Feb 25. doi:10.3390/jcm9030618, 2020.

◎Murata M, Ito T*, Tanaka Y, Kaku-Ito Y, Furue M. NECTIN4 expression in extramammary Paget’s disease: Implication of a new therapeutic target. Int J Mol Sci. 2020 Aug 16; 21(16):5891. doi: 10.3390/ijms21165891.

◎Ito T*, Kaku-Ito Y, Wada-Ohno M, Furue M. Narrow margin excision for acral melanoma: Is it acceptable? J Clin Med. 2020; 9(7):E2266. Published 2020 Jul 16. doi:10.3390/jcm9072266.

◎Ito T*, Kaku-Ito Y, Murata M, Furue K, Shen CH, Oda Y, Furue M. Immunohistochemical BRAF V600E expression and intratumor BRAF V600E heterogeneity in acral melanoma: Implication in melanoma-specific survival. J Clin Med. 2020 Mar 4; 9(3). pii: E690. doi: 10.3390/jcm9030690.