Massimo D'Apuzzo, M.D., Ph.D.

(877) 460-4673
Massimo D'Apuzzo, M.D., Ph.D.
Pathologist
Clinical Expertise
  • Neuropathology
  • Gastrointestinal Pathology
  • Thoracic Pathology
Other Languages Spoken
Italian
German
French
Spanish
Academic Appointments
  • Clinical Professor, Department of Pathology
Clinical Teams
Brain Tumors

Massimo D'Apuzzo, M.D. is the neuropathologist for the Brain Tumor program at City of Hope®. In addition to neuropathology, he also provides pathology services for digestive system and thoracic tumors within the general anatomic pathology service.

Location

Education & Experience

Board Certifications

  • 2006, Anatomic Pathology Board Certification
  • 2007, Neuropathology Board Certification
  • 2004, California Medical License

Degrees

  • 1997, University of Bern, Switzerland, Ph.D., Immunology
  • 1993, University of Bern, Switzerland, M.D., Medicine

Professional Experience

  • 2007–present, Neuropathologist and Anatomic Pathologist, Department of Pathology, City of Hope, Duarte, CA
  • 2012–Neuropathologist and Anatomic Pathologist, Hoag Hospital Newport Beach, CA
  • 2004–2006, Neuropathology Fellow, Department of Pathology, Stanford University Medical Center, Palo Alto, CA
  • 2005–2006, Research Associate, Stem Cells, Department of Pathology, Stanford University Medical Center, Palo Alto, CA
  • 2002–2004, Anatomic Pathology Resident, Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
  • 2001–2002, Gastrointestinal Pathology Research Fellow, Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
  • 1998–2001, Postdoctoral Scholar, Neuroscience, Division of Biology, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA
  • 1994–1997, Graduate Research, Immunology, University of Bern, Switzerland

Publications

  • Dayyani M, Filippov A, Zhang I, Georges J, Saeed Z, Turunen J, Sobhanian N, Yuan H, D'Apuzzo M, Hao Y, Berens ME, Zhang L, Portnow J, Badie B. RAGE Inhibition Reduces Surgery-Induced Cerebral Edema After Glioma Resection. Neurosurgery. 2026 Mar 19;. doi: 10.1227/neu.0000000000003987. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 41854274; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC13404757.
  • Liang Y, Afkhami M, Thompson LDR, Gao H, Maghami EG, D'Apuzzo M, Chang S, Bell D, Telatar M, Gernon TJ, Wu H. Barnaculate Carcinoma in Four Patients: Verrucoid Squamous Cell Carcinoma Subtype with TERT and HRAS Oncogenic Variants. Head Neck Pathol. 2026 Jan 5;20(1):6. doi: 10.1007/s12105-025-01870-3. PubMed PMID: 41489678; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC12770093.
  • Park B, Cao R, Luo Y, Liu C, Zeng Y, Zhang Y, Zhou Q, Davis S, D'Apuzzo M, Wang LV. Rapid cancer diagnosis using deep learning-powered label-free subcellular-resolution photoacoustic histology. Sci Adv. 2025 Nov 21;11(47):eadz1820. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adz1820. Epub 2025 Nov 21. PubMed PMID: 41270177; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC12637292.
  • Barish ME, Aftabizadeh M, Hibbard J, Blanchard MS, Ostberg JR, Wagner JR, Manchanda M, Paul J, Stiller T, Aguilar B, Starr R, Arvanitis L, Ressler JA, Kilpatrick J, Kong Y, Wang D, Forman SJ, D'Apuzzo M, Brown CE, Badie B. Chlorotoxin-directed CAR T cell therapy for recurrent glioblastoma: Interim clinical experience demonstrating feasibility and safety. Cell Rep Med. 2025 Aug 19;6(8):102302. doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2025.102302. Epub 2025 Aug 15. PubMed PMID: 40818458; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC12432350.
  • Dorff TB, Blanchard MS, Adkins LN, Luebbert L, Leggett N, Shishido SN, Macias A, Del Real MM, Dhapola G, Egelston C, Murad JP, Rosa R, Paul J, Chaudhry A, Martirosyan H, Gerdts E, Wagner JR, Stiller T, Tilakawardane D, Pal S, Martinez C, Reiter RE, Budde LE, D'Apuzzo M, Kuhn P, Pachter L, Forman SJ, Priceman SJ. PSCA-CAR T cell therapy in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer: a phase 1 trial. Nat Med. 2024 Jun;30(6):1636-1644. doi: 10.1038/s41591-024-02979-8. Epub 2024 Jun 12. PubMed PMID: 38867077; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11186768.
  • Brown CE, Hibbard JC, Alizadeh D, Blanchard MS, Natri HM, Wang D, Ostberg JR, Aguilar B, Wagner JR, Paul JA, Starr R, Wong RA, Chen W, Shulkin N, Aftabizadeh M, Filippov A, Chaudhry A, Ressler JA, Kilpatrick J, Myers-McNamara P, Chen M, Wang LD, Rockne RC, Georges J, Portnow J, Barish ME, D'Apuzzo M, Banovich NE, Forman SJ, Badie B. Author Correction: Locoregional delivery of IL-13Rα2-targeting CAR-T cells in recurrent high-grade glioma: a phase 1 trial. Nat Med. 2024 May;30(5):1501. doi: 10.1038/s41591-024-02928-5. PubMed PMID: 38514871; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11108767.
  • Brown CE, Hibbard JC, Alizadeh D, Blanchard MS, Natri HM, Wang D, Ostberg JR, Aguilar B, Wagner JR, Paul JA, Starr R, Wong RA, Chen W, Shulkin N, Aftabizadeh M, Filippov A, Chaudhry A, Ressler JA, Kilpatrick J, Myers-McNamara P, Chen M, Wang LD, Rockne RC, Georges J, Portnow J, Barish ME, D'Apuzzo M, Banovich NE, Forman SJ, Badie B. Locoregional delivery of IL-13Rα2-targeting CAR-T cells in recurrent high-grade glioma: a phase 1 trial. Nat Med. 2024 Apr;30(4):1001-1012. doi: 10.1038/s41591-024-02875-1. Epub 2024 Mar 7. PubMed PMID: 38454126; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11031404.
  • Wang L, Oill AT, Blanchard M, Wu M, Hibbard J, Sepulveda S, Peter L, Kilpatrick J, Munoz M, Stiller T, Shulkin N, Wagner J, Dolatabadi A, Nisis M, Shepphird J, Sanchez G, Lingaraju C, Manchanda M, Natri H, Kouakanou L, Sun G, Oliver-Cervantes C, Georges J, Aftabizadeh M, Forman S, Priceman S, Ressler J, Arvanitis L, Cotter J, D'Apuzzo M, Tamrazi B, Badie B, Davidson T, Banovich N, Brown C. Expansion of endogenous T cells in CSF of pediatric CNS tumor patients undergoing locoregional delivery of IL13R〿2-targeting CAR T cells: an interim analysis. Res Sq. 2023 Oct 23;. doi: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3454977/v1. PubMed PMID: 37961215; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10635314.
  • Ye J, Guo W, Wang C, Egelston CA, D'Apuzzo M, Shankar G, Fakih MG, Lee PP. Peritumoral Immune-suppressive Mechanisms Impede Intratumoral Lymphocyte Infiltration into Colorectal Cancer Liver versus Lung Metastases. Cancer Res Commun. 2023 Oct 12;3(10):2082-2095. doi: 10.1158/2767-9764.CRC-23-0212. PubMed PMID: 37768208; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10569153.
  • Liu L, Woo Y, D'Apuzzo M, Melstrom L, Raoof M, Liang Y, Afkhami M, Hamilton SR, Chao J. Immunotherapy-Based Neoadjuvant Treatment of Advanced Microsatellite Instability-High Gastric Cancer: A Case Series. J Natl Compr Canc Netw. 2022 Aug;20(8):857-865. doi: 10.6004/jnccn.2022.7023. PubMed PMID: 35948034.

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