Rania Bakkar, M.D.
- Cancer Biomarkers and Therapeutics
- Gynecological Pathology
- Clinical Professor, Department of Pathology
Rania Bakkar M.D., is a Professor of Pathology and the Medical Director of the Biomarkers and Diagnostic Immunohistochemistry Laboratory in the department of Pathology at City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, in Duarte, California. An American Board-certified anatomic and clinical pathologist. Dr. Bakkar is subspecialized in cancer biomarkers and therapeutics, and in the pathology of women’s cancers. She has vast experience in both fields, with more than a decade of clinical experience, after completion of her pathology residency training followed by fellowship training in her fields of expertise at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.
In patient care, she leads with compassion and a commitment to providing state-of-the art service. She held multiple academic and clinical positions and leadership roles throughout her career. Dr. Bakkar was invited to provide numerous educational lectures, seminars, presentations, and Grand Rounds talks to pathologists and trainees at local, regional, national and international meetings. She has published over 30 peer-reviewed original scientific articles and written several book chapters in her field. She has been actively engaged in multiple translational-type research studies addressing potential biomarkers that can be used for targeted therapy, especially in patients with advanced gynecologic cancer.
Outside of City of Hope, Dr. Bakkar is an artist who enjoys painting and drawing, especially portraits and human figure.
Location
Duarte Cancer Center
Duarte, CA 91010
Education & Experience
Degrees
- 2001 Doctor of Medicine, University of Cairo College of Medicine, Cairo, Egypt
Fellowship
- 2011 Cancer Biomarkers (Breast and Gynecologic Pathology) MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
- 2010 Oncologic Surgical Pathology, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Residency
- 2009 Pathology, University of Louisville Hospital, Louisville, KY
- 2007 Pathology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH
- 2004 Anesthesiology, University of Cairo Hospital, Cairo, Egypt
Professional Experience
- 2024–Present, Clinical Professor, Department of Pathology, City of Hope, Duarte, CA
- 2023–2024, Associate Professor, Department of Pathology, City of Hope, Duarte, CA
- 2020–2022, Director, Anatomic Pathology Instructor Program & Surgical Pathology Fellowship Program Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA
- 2018–2022, Associate Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA
Awards & Memberships
Awards
- 2019 Certificate of Outstanding Contribution in Reviewing Award, EJSO, Elsevier
- 2011 The Diane Denson Tobola Fellowship in Ovarian Cancer Research
- 2001 Final degree of Excellent with Honors award, University of Cairo, College of Medicine
Memberships
- Egyptian Medical Syndicate 2001
- United State and Canadian Academy of Pathology
- American Society for Clinical Pathology
- College of American Pathologists
- International Society of Breast Pathology
- Arthur Purdy Stout Society of surgical pathologists
- International Society of Gynecologic Pathologists
Publications
- Silva E, Malpica A, Roma A, Ramalingam P, Kim G, Bakkar R, Loghavi S, Kim S, Shaye-Brown A, Marques-Piubelli ML, Chisholm G, Gershenson DM, Alvarado-Cabrero I. Ovarian mucinous neoplasms, intestinal type, in premenopausal patients, develop in abnormal ovaries. Hum Pathol 2021 Feb;108:32-41.
- Nguyen L, Nilforoushan N, Krane JF, Bose S, Bakkar R. Should "suspicious for high-grade urothelial carcinoma" and "positive for high-grade urothelial carcinoma" remain separate categories? Cancer Cytopathol 2021. Feb;129(2):156-163.
- Silva EG, Kim G, Bakkar R, Bozdag Z, Shaye-Brown A., Stolnicu S, Cayax LI, Pitalua MCT, Pinto K, M.D. Histology of the Normal Ovary in Premenopausal Patients. Ann Diagn Pathol. 2020 Feb 4;46:151475. doi: 10.1016/j.anndiagpath.
- Bakkar R., Mirocha J., Xuemo F., Frishberg D., Venturina M., Zhai, J, Bose, S. "Impact of The Paris System for Reporting Urine Cytopathology on Positive Predictive Value of The Atypical Diagnostic Category and Interobserver Agreement". CytoJournal 2019, 16:21 (22 October 2019)
- Jensen, J.A., Bakkar, R., Burnison, M., and Giuliano, A.E. Lymphovascular invasion and the decision for post mastectomy radiation therapy: A cautionary case report. Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open. 2019 Feb 8;7(2):e2115. doi: 10.1097/GOX.0000000000002115
- Jaramillo-Huff A, Bakkar R, McKee JQ, Sokkary N. Primary Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumor Arising from an Ovarian Mature Cystic Teratoma in a 12-Year-Old Girl: A Case Report. J Pediatr Adolesc Gynecol. 2017 Aug;30(4):511-512. doi: 10.1016/j.jpag.2016.11.007.
- Guenthoer J, Chai X, Makar KW, Carlson CS, Bakkar R, King IB, Kang H, Thompson B, Li CI, Hsu L, Cook LS, Porter PL. Relationship of ancestry and breast cancer subtypes in Hispanic women from New Mexico and Washington State. 2016 Mar. Journal of American Association for Cancer Research. DOI: 10.1158/1538-7755.DISP15-C56
- Bakkar RM, Xie SS, Urbauer DL, Djordjevic B, Vu K, Broaddus RR. Intact PTEN Expression by Immunohistochemistry is Associated with Decreased Survival in Advanced Stage Ovarian/Primary Peritoneal High-grade Serous Carcinoma. Int J Gynecol Pathol. 2015 Nov;34(6):497-506.
- Zenali M, deKay J, Liu Z, Hamilton S, Zuo Z, Lu X, Bakkar R, Mills G, Broaddus R. Retrospective Review of MET Gene Mutations. Oncoscience. 2015 May 14;2(5):533-41.
- Elhosseiny A, Bakkar R, Zenali M. Cytology of The Biliary Tree. Annals of Clinical Pathology. 2014;2(2):1015.
- Bakkar R, Gershenson D, Fox P, Vu K, Zenali M, Silva E. Stage IIIC ovarian/peritoneal serous carcinoma: a heterogeneous group of patients with different prognoses. Int J Gynecol Pathol. 2014 May;33(3):302-8.
- Janku F, Broaddus R, Bakkar R, Hong DS, Stepanek V, Naingv A, Falchook GS, Fu S, Wheler JJ, Piha-Paul SA, Moulder SL, Luthra R, Tsimberidou AM, Kurzrock R. PTEN assessment and PI3K/mTOR inhibitors: Importance of simultaneous assessment of MAPK pathway aberrations. Journal of Clinical Oncology 2012 30:15_suppl, 10510-10510
- Godfrey GJ, Bakkar R, Farghaly H. Mature cystic teratoma of the appendix: a case report. Anal Quant Cytol Histol. 2010 Oct;32(5):295-8.
- Bakkar R, Luo G, Webb TA, Crutcher KA, De Courten-Myers GM. Down's Syndrome with Alzheimer's disease-like pathology: what can it teach us about the amyloid cascade hypothesis? Int J Alzheimers Dis. Volume 2010: 175818. Published online 2010 June 6.