Hussein Abbas, MD, PhD, is an assistant professor for the Department of Leukemia at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. 

Hussein Abbas, MD, PhD

2025 Society of Dermatology Physician Associates (SDPA) Fall Conference

, titled ‘When a Rash Is More than Skin Deep: Systemic Mastocytosis Essentials,’ Hussein Abbas, MD, PhD, spoke about his talk with 

, Abbas highlighted key features of systemic macrocytosis.

 In this interview segment, filmed on-site at the SDPA Fall Conference, Abbas spoke about several other key takeaways from his session and tips for clinicians considering a referral to a hematology or mast cell disease specialist.

When to Refer a Patient for Systemic Mastocytosis, With Hussein Abbas, MD, PhD

“I think in adults, for adults, when cutaneous mastocytosis is diagnosed, there should be an immediate referral to a systemic mastocytosis specialist,” Abbas said. “Why so? Because, as I mentioned before, every patient who has cutaneous mastocytosis as an adult is likely going to have systemic mastocytosis, meaning the disease manifests in the bone marrow or other tissues other than the skin.”

Abbas emphasized the importance of immediate referral to a systemic mastocytosis specialist for adults with cutaneous mastocytosis. In pediatric cases, Abbas noted cutaneous mastocytosis can resolve, especially the polymorphic type, though the monomorphic type may persist.

“For any patient with systemic mastocytosis, the first question I [posed] is, ‘Do they need treatments?’” Abbas explained. “Because not every patient needs treatment. I think every patient needs to carry two EpiPens, epinephrine pens, because they're at risk of what we call anaphylaxis. But the actual treatment is not something they need for every patient. So if they do need treatment, we usually start with symptomatic treatment: antihistamines, cromolyn, sometimes topical steroids, and some control the symptoms.”

“Some patients respond to these options,” Abbas noted. “It may take 4, 7, 8, 9 weeks to respond, but they sometimes respond. If they don't respond and the symptom burden is high, then depending on the disease subtype, in case of skin involvement, usually this is the non-advanced subtype, although the advanced subtype could also have skin involvement.”

Later in his interview, Abbas was asked about remaining unmet needs in this particular space. He stated he would put unmet needs among patients into 3 categories.

“The first category is going to be diagnosing the disease, meaning physicians and patients, and practitioners recognizing the entity of systemic mastocytosis,” Abbas said. “This is a major unmet need, because the diagnostic test and the diagnostic expertise for this testing is not available everywhere, and it's not a classic disease that's thought about.”

In the second unmet need category, Abbas highlighted the lack of treatment options. He noted only a single drug is approved in the indolent form. Overall, he believes more treatments are needed for this condition.

“The third thing is more patient advocacy,” Abbas expressed. “We really need patients to feel empowered, to recognize their disease and recognize that what they're feeling is not normal…Why so? Because it takes around 7 to 8 years from the time a patient has symptoms until a diagnosis is confirmed, [and this is] because there's a lack of awareness.”

View the full video above to learn more. For any other information on topics such as these, view the 

In this summary, quotes highlighted were edited for the purposes of clarity.

Abbas has no relevant financial disclosures of note.

Lal K. GLP1 Agonist Therapy in Dermatology. Presented at the Society of Dermatology Physician Associates (SDPA) Fall Conference, November 5-9, San Antonio, TX.

Abbas H. How to Recognize Systemic Mastocytosis in a Patient, With Hussein Abbas, MD, PhD. HCPLive. November 9, 2025. 

https://www.hcplive.com/view/how-to-recognize-systemic-mastocytosis-patient-hussein-abbas-md-phd

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In this segment of his interview, Abbas highlights when to refer a patient for systemic macrocytosis to a hematology or mast cell disease specialist.

Early recognition of a rash as something more has the potential to change lives if a clinician identifies systemic macrocytosis.

Systemic macrocytosis, a rare but impactful disease often first observed in the skin, was covered in a recent session at the 

, titled ‘When a Rash Is More than Skin Deep: Systemic Mastocytosis Essentials.’

, the presenter and assistant professor at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston spoke about this talk.

How to Recognize Systemic Mastocytosis in a Patient, With Hussein Abbas, MD, PhD

“I think one of the main challenges that physicians face, and also patients face, is when they have a rare disease that they can't really diagnose,” Abbas explained. “Systemic mastocytosis is a very rare disease, but it's also a significant disease because it can really create a lot of symptom burden to patients, and also in some cases, can impact the longevity and how long people live and the quality of life that they have.”

In his session, Abbas sought to help attendees to explore some of the diagnostic pathways, key clinical clues, and strategies for collaborative management with hematology/oncology specialists.

“One of the main takeaways is that systemic mesocytosis is under-recognized, and working together is important [so that we] recognize it,” Abbas said. “Why is that? Because the first people who see the disease, most commonly are sometimes dermatologists or allergists, because patients can present with skin rashes in common cases, though not always. Or they could also present with allergies to things or reactions to things, recognizing, however, that this is systemic mastocytosis, which requires a workup, and that workup includes enzymes like tryptase from the blood.”

Abbas went on in his description of the session, noting most patients who have cutaneous mastocytosis also have disease elsewhere. He noted the cutaneous manifestations could be grouped into 3 main groups, 1 of which is referred to as maculopapular cutaneous mastocytosis (MPCM).

“This is when you have brown, reddish lesions,” Abbas said. “They could be the same shape around the skin, all over, and usually, if they're an adult, we can see them. You can recognize them by the brownish color and…when you try to palpate it or kind of stimulate that lesion, it can cause a reaction on the skin.”

For more tips on identifying systemic macrocytosis, view the full video posted above.

The quotes contained in this interview were edited for clarity.

Abbas did not have relevant financial disclosures of note.

Abbas H. When a Rash Is More than Skin Deep: Systemic Mastocytosis Essentials. Presented at the Society of Dermatology Physician Associates (SDPA) Fall Conference, November 5-9, San Antonio, TX.

This interview was on-site at SDPA, featuring a discussion of the tools needed to identify systemic macrocytosis.

Hussein Abbas, MD, PhD

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