About

Jessica M. Donigan, MD is an assistant professor in the Department of Dermatology at the University of Utah School of Medicine. She specializes in Mohs micrographic surgery, reconstruction following skin cancer surgery, and dermatologic surgery for benign conditions such as cysts and lipomas. Her clinical interests include the care of high-risk skin cancer patients, and her research focuses on pain management following dermatologic procedures, as well as cutaneous malignancies including melanoma and keratinocyte carcinomas such as basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. Dr. Donigan completed a fellowship in Mohs micrographic surgery and dermatologic oncology, and she is board certified in Dermatology and Micrographic Dermatologic Surgery. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology and the American College of Mohs Surgery.

Research topics

• Medicine
• Internal medicine
• Intensive care medicine
• Medical physics
• Family medicine
• Computer Science
• Pathology
• Surgery
• Oncology
• Pharmacology
• Dermatology

Selected publications

• Supplementary Table 1 from Assessing <i>MC1R</i> Variants in Lentigo Maligna Melanoma within the Utah Population

  2025-07-28

  supplementary-materialsOpen access

  <p>Table of dbSNP allele frequencies</p>

  PublisherDOI

• Supplementary Figure 1 from Assessing <i>MC1R</i> Variants in Lentigo Maligna Melanoma within the Utah Population

  2025-07-28

  preprintOpen access

  <p>Figure of age and gender distribution for key MC1R variants.</p>

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Data from Assessing <i>MC1R</i> Variants in Lentigo Maligna Melanoma within the Utah Population

  2025-07-28

  preprintOpen access

  <div>Abstract<p>Lentigo maligna (LM) and lentigo maligna melanoma (LMM) arise from chronically sun-damaged skin. LM/LMM incidence continues to increase, particularly in Utah, where melanoma rates are twice the national average. The melanocortin-1 receptor (<i>MC1R</i>) has been studied in melanocyte pigmentation and DNA repair but has yet to be thoroughly investigated in LM/LMM. We investigated allele and genotype frequencies of germline <i>MC1R</i> variants among 175 Utah patients diagnosed with LM/LMM and 402 Utah reference individuals. The comparative analysis demonstrated an increased frequency of the D294H allele (0.046; <i>P</i> = 0.0042) and a decreased frequency of the V60L allele (0.074; <i>P</i> = 0.034) in patients with LM/LMM. The LM/LMM group demonstrated a higher OR compared with the Utah reference group associated with R151C homozygosity compared with heterozygous R151C [OR = 5.6; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.98–32; <i>P</i> = 0.052] and R151C homozygosity compared with wild type (OR = 5.7; 95% CI, 1.1–30; <i>P</i> = 0.042). D294H heterozygosity was strongly associated with LM/LMM (OR = 3.8; 95% CI, 1.3–11; <i>P</i> = 0.014). Conversely, V60L heterozygosity was less strongly associated with LM/LMM (OR = 0.52; 95% CI, 0.26–1.1; <i>P</i> = 0.072). Stratified analyses showed no significant differences in age or gender across the key <i>MC1R</i> variants studied. These data highlight significant differences in <i>MC1R</i> allele frequencies in patients with LM/LMM, demonstrating that D294H is associated with increased LM/LMM risk, whereas the V60L variant is inversely associated with risk. This study provides the first comprehensive analysis of specific high-risk <i>MC1R</i> variants in patients with LM/LMM in Utah.</p>Significance:<p>Our study is the first comprehensive analysis of <i>MC1R</i> germline variants in patients with LM/LMM in Utah, a region with an exceptionally high melanoma incidence. We draw new risk associations in LM/LMM, identifying an increased risk with the D294H and R151C variants. We also describe a novel inverse association for V60L, warranting further investigation. This study contributes to improved targeted risk stratification and an increased understanding of an understudied melanoma subtype.</p></div>

  PublisherDOI

• Supplemental Data from Assessing <i>MC1R</i> Variants in Lentigo Maligna Melanoma within the Utah Population

  2025-07-28

  preprintOpen access

  <p>Sanger sequencing data for each sample</p>

  PublisherDOI

• Table 1 from Assessing <i>MC1R</i> Variants in Lentigo Maligna Melanoma within the Utah Population

  2025-07-28

  preprintOpen access

  <p>Key demographic characteristics of patients with LM/LMM in the study (<i>n</i> = 175)</p>

  PublisherDOI

• Figure 2 from Assessing <i>MC1R</i> Variants in Lentigo Maligna Melanoma within the Utah Population

  2025-07-28

  preprintOpen access

  <p>Specific <i>MC1R</i> genotypes confer an increased risk of developing LM/LMM. The heatmaps display the percentage frequencies of <i>MC1R</i> genotypes within two cohorts: (<b>A</b>) Mohs LM/LMM cohort and (<b>B</b>) the Utah reference group. The heatmaps are color-coded to reflect genotype percentages, with red indicating higher frequencies and green indicating lower frequencies. This comparison highlights the differential distribution of <i>MC1R</i> genotypes between patients with LM/LMM and the Utah reference group. * denotes samples for which we calculated an OR compared with WT or heterozygous/homozygous genotypes.</p>

  PublisherDOI

• Dermatofibrosarcoma Protuberans, Version 1.2025, NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines In Oncology

  Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network · 2025-01-01 · 26 citations

  article

  Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) is a rare cutaneous soft tissue sarcoma and affects an estimated 1,500 people annually in the United States. DFSP frequently exhibits extensive local infiltration. Initial treatment is through surgical excision, and care should be taken to ensure that negative margins are achieved to minimize recurrence. Although DFSP has a reported high rate of recurrence, metastasis is more uncommon. Fibrosarcomatous DFSP is an aggressive variant with an increased risk for local recurrence and metastasis. If achieving negative margins or resection is not feasible, radiation therapy or systemic treatment are options that may be considered by a multidisciplinary team. The NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines) outline recommended treatment options available for DFSP.

  PublisherDOI

• Assessing <i>MC1R</i> Variants in Lentigo Maligna Melanoma within the Utah Population

  Cancer Research Communications · 2025-07-01

  articleOpen access

  Lentigo maligna (LM) and lentigo maligna melanoma (LMM) arise from chronically sun-damaged skin. LM/LMM incidence continues to increase, particularly in Utah, where melanoma rates are twice the national average. The melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R) has been studied in melanocyte pigmentation and DNA repair but has yet to be thoroughly investigated in LM/LMM. We investigated allele and genotype frequencies of germline MC1R variants among 175 Utah patients diagnosed with LM/LMM and 402 Utah reference individuals. The comparative analysis demonstrated an increased frequency of the D294H allele (0.046; P = 0.0042) and a decreased frequency of the V60L allele (0.074; P = 0.034) in patients with LM/LMM. The LM/LMM group demonstrated a higher OR compared with the Utah reference group associated with R151C homozygosity compared with heterozygous R151C [OR = 5.6; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.98-32; P = 0.052] and R151C homozygosity compared with wild type (OR = 5.7; 95% CI, 1.1-30; P = 0.042). D294H heterozygosity was strongly associated with LM/LMM (OR = 3.8; 95% CI, 1.3-11; P = 0.014). Conversely, V60L heterozygosity was less strongly associated with LM/LMM (OR = 0.52; 95% CI, 0.26-1.1; P = 0.072). Stratified analyses showed no significant differences in age or gender across the key MC1R variants studied. These data highlight significant differences in MC1R allele frequencies in patients with LM/LMM, demonstrating that D294H is associated with increased LM/LMM risk, whereas the V60L variant is inversely associated with risk. This study provides the first comprehensive analysis of specific high-risk MC1R variants in patients with LM/LMM in Utah. SIGNIFICANCE: Our study is the first comprehensive analysis of MC1R germline variants in patients with LM/LMM in Utah, a region with an exceptionally high melanoma incidence. We draw new risk associations in LM/LMM, identifying an increased risk with the D294H and R151C variants. We also describe a novel inverse association for V60L, warranting further investigation. This study contributes to improved targeted risk stratification and an increased understanding of an understudied melanoma subtype.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Supplementary Table 2 from Assessing &lt;i&gt;MC1R&lt;/i&gt; Variants in Lentigo Maligna Melanoma within the Utah Population

  2025-07-28

  supplementary-materialsOpen access

  &lt;p&gt;Table of the Utah reference group data&lt;/p&gt;

  PublisherDOI

• Figure 1 from Assessing &lt;i&gt;MC1R&lt;/i&gt; Variants in Lentigo Maligna Melanoma within the Utah Population

  2025-07-28

  preprintOpen access

  &lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;MC1R&lt;/i&gt; variant allele frequencies vary between the Utah reference group and LM/LMM cohorts. &lt;b&gt;A,&lt;/b&gt; Bar graph of &lt;i&gt;MC1R&lt;/i&gt; allele frequencies in different populations derived from the dSNP database, &lt;i&gt;N&lt;/i&gt; = 24,662–123,831. &lt;b&gt;B,&lt;/b&gt; Bar graph comparing the European dbSNP data (&lt;i&gt;N&lt;/i&gt; = 18,644–111,821) with the Utah reference group (&lt;i&gt;N&lt;/i&gt; = 402). &lt;b&gt;C,&lt;/b&gt; Bar graph comparing the European dbSNP data (&lt;i&gt;N&lt;/i&gt; = 18,644–111,821) with the LM/LMM cohort (&lt;i&gt;N&lt;/i&gt; = 175). &lt;b&gt;D,&lt;/b&gt; Bar graph comparing the &lt;i&gt;MC1R&lt;/i&gt; allele frequencies between the LM/LMM cohort (&lt;i&gt;N&lt;/i&gt; = 175) and the Utah reference group (&lt;i&gt;N&lt;/i&gt; = 402). Significance in &lt;b&gt;B–D&lt;/b&gt; was assessed using Fisher’s exact test, with a &lt;i&gt;P&lt;/i&gt; value &lt; 0.05 considered statistically significant. &lt;i&gt;P&lt;/i&gt; value significance thresholds: &lt;0.05 (*), &lt;0.01 (**), and &lt;0.001 (***).&lt;/p&gt;

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Jeremy S. Bordeaux

  University School

  31 shared

• Paul Nghiem

  University of Washington

  29 shared

• Rachel Blitzblau

  Cancer Institute (WIA)

  24 shared

• Sumaira Z. Aasi

  23 shared

• Dominick J. DiMaio

  University of Nebraska Medical Center

  20 shared

• Soohyung Park

  Korea University Medical Center

  19 shared

• Theresa Medina

  19 shared

• Divya Srivastava

  Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center

  19 shared

Education

• M.D.

  University of Utah School of Medicine

Awards & honors

• Fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology
• Fellow of the American College of Mohs Surgery