Erminia Massarelli, M.D., Ph.D., M.S.

Erminia Massarelli, M.D., Ph.D., M.S. is the Co-Director of the Lung Cancer and Thoracic Oncology Program, the Division Chief of the Thoracic Medical Oncology, and an Associate Professor in the department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research, specializing in lung and head and neck cancers.   

Dr. Massarelli received her medical doctorate and Ph.D. in molecular oncology and endocrinology from the University of Naples Federico II in Italy. She continued her postdoctoral training with dual medical oncology and thoracic/head & neck medical oncology fellowships at MD Anderson Cancer Center.  In 2009, Dr. Massarelli pursued a residency in internal medicine at the Methodist Hospital in Houston, followed by a clinical fellowship at MD Anderson Cancer Center in medical oncology and a Master of Science in biomedical sciences from the University from the University of Texas Health Science Center. 

Board-certified in internal medicine and medical oncology, Dr. Massarelli is the recipient of several honors and awards and has received funding for her research grants and protocols including recipient of DOD Idea Award and receipt of the ASCO Conquer Cancer Foundation’s Young Investigator Award. She has published over 94 peer-reviewed articles, numerous abstracts and four book chapters. Dr. Massarelli is frequently invited to present her work at national and international conferences and symposia and holds several memberships in professional societies including the American Society of Clinical Oncology and International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer.

• Sacher A, LoRusso P, Patel MR, Miller WH Jr, Garralda E, Forster MD, Santoro A, Falcon A, Kim TW, Paz-Ares L, Bowyer S, de Miguel M, Han SW, Krebs MG, Lee JS, Cheng ML, Arbour K, Massarelli E, Choi Y, Shi Z, Mandlekar S, Lin MT, Royer-Joo S, Chang J, Dharia NV, Schutzman JL, Desai J; GO42144 Investigator and Study Group. Single-Agent Divarasib (GDC-6036) in Solid Tumors with a KRAS G12C Mutation. N Engl J Med. 2023 Aug 24;389(8):710-721. PMID: 37611121.
• Reyes A, Pharaon R, Mohanty A, Massarelli E. Arising Novel Agents in Lung Cancer: Are Bispecifics and ADCs the New Paradigm? Cancers (Basel). 2023 Jun 13;15(12):3162. PMID: 37370772.
• Ettinger DS, Wood DE, Aisner DL, Akerley W, Bauman JR, Bharat A, Bruno DS, Chang JY, Chirieac LR, DeCamp M, Dilling TJ, Dowell J, Durm GA, Gettinger S, Grotz TE, Gubens MA, Hegde A, Lackner RP, Lanuti M, Lin J, Loo BW, Lovly CM, Maldonado F, Massarelli E, Morgensztern D, Ng T, Otterson GA, Patel SP, Patil T, Polanco PM, Riely GJ, Riess J, Schild SE, Shapiro TA, Singh AP, Stevenson J, Tam A, Tanvetyanon T, Yanagawa J, Yang SC, Yau E, Gregory KM, Hughes M. NCCN Guidelines® Insights: Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, Version 2.2023. J Natl Compr Canc Netw. 2023 Apr;21(4):340-350. doi: 10.6004/jnccn.2023.0020. PMID: 37015337.
• Chan ATC, Lee VHF, Hong RL, Ahn MJ, Chong WQ, Kim SB, Ho GF, Caguioa PB, Ngamphaiboon N, Ho C, Aziz MASA, Ng QS, Yen CJ, Soparattanapaisarn N, Ngan RK, Kho SK, Tiambeng MLA, Yun T, Sriuranpong V, Algazi AP, Cheng A, Massarelli E, Swaby RF, Saraf S, Yuan J, Siu LL. Pembrolizumab Monotherapy Versus Chemotherapy in Platinum-Pretreated, Recurrent or Metastatic Nasopharyngeal Cancer (KEYNOTE-122): an Open-Label, Randomized, Phase III trial. Ann Oncol. 2023 Mar;34(3):251-261. doi: 10.1016/j.annonc.2022.12.007. Epub 2022 Dec 16. PMID: 36535566.
• Reyes A, Mohanty A, Pharaon R, Massarelli E. Association between Immunosuppressive Therapy Utilized in the Treatment of Autoimmune Disease or Transplant and Cancer Progression. Biomedicines. 2022 Dec 30;11(1):99. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines11010099. PMID: 36672607.
• Moreira D, Sampath S, Won H, White SV, Su YL, Alcantara M, Wang C, Lee P, Maghami E, Massarelli E, Kortylewski M [Co-Last Author]. Myeloid Cell-Targeted STAT3 Inhibition Sensitizes Head and Neck Cancers to Radiotherapy and T Cell-Mediated Immunity. J Clin Invest. 2021 Jan 19;131(2):e137001. doi: 10.1172/JCI137001. PMID: 33232304. 
• Massarelli E, Lam V, Parra E, Rodriguez-Canales J, Behrens C, Diao L, Wang J, Blando J, Byers L, Yanamandra N, Brett S, Morley P, Sharma P, Allison J, Wistuba I, Heymach J. High OX-40 Expression in the Tumor Immune Infiltrate is A Favorable Prognostic Factor of Overall Survival in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. J Immunother Cancer. 2019 Dec 16;7(1):351. doi: 10.1186/s40425-019-0827-2. PMID: 31843013.  
• Massarelli E (Co-First Author), Haddad RI, Lee JJ, Lin HY, Hutcheson K, Lewis J, Garden AS, Blumenschein GR, William WN, Pharaon RR, Tishler RB, Glisson BS, Pickering C, Gold KA, Johnson FM, Rabinowits G, Ginsberg LE, Williams MD, Myers J, Kies MS, Papadimitrakopoulou V. Weekly Paclitaxel, Carboplatin, Cetuximab, and Cetuximab, Docetaxel, Cisplatin, and Fluorouracil, Followed by Local Therapy in Previously Untreated, Locally Advanced Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Annals of Oncology. Volume 30, Issue 3, March 1 2019, Pages 471–477. doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/annonc/mdy549. PMID: 30596812.
• Massarelli E, William W, Johnson F, Kies M, Ferrarotto R, Guo M, Feng L, Lee J, Tran H, Kim Y, Haymaker C, Bernatchez C, Curran M, Zecchini B, Rodriguez C, Wistuba I, Li L, Wang J, van der Burg S, Melief C, Glisson B. Combining Immune Checkpoint Blockade and Tumor-Specific Vaccine for Patients with Incurable Human Papillomavirus 16-Related Cancer: A Phase 2 Clinical Trial. JAMA Oncol. 2019 Jan 1;5(1):67-73. doi: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2018.4051. PMID: 30267032.
• Massarelli E, Lin H, Ginsberg LE, Tran HT, Lee JJ, Canales JR, Williams MD, Blumenschein GR, Lu C, Heymach JV, Kies MS, Papadimitrakopoulou V. Phase II Trial of Everolimus and Erlotinib in Patients with Platinum-Resistant Recurrent And/or Metastatic Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Ann Oncol 2015 Jul 26(7):1476-1480, 7/2015. e-Pub 5/2015. PMID: 26025965.

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