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, an associate professor in the Department of Medical Oncology & 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 and 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 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 receipt of the ASCO Conquer Cancer Foundation’s Young Investigator Award. She has published over 55 peer-reviewed articles, numerous abstracts and three 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.

• Moreira D, Sampath S, Won H, White SV, Su YL, Alcantara M, Wang C, Lee P, Maghami E, Massarelli E, Kortylewski M. 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. Nasopharyngeal Cancer: Is the Addition of Chemotherapy to Radiotherapy Worthwhile in an Era of Value-Based Care?, JCO Oncol Pract. (2020).
• Pharaon R, Chung S, Amini A, Maghami E, Chowdhury A, Vora N, Chang S, Kang R, Gernon T, Hansen K, Kelly C, Ackerman D, Vora L, Sampath S, Massarelli E. An Analysis and Comparison of Survival and Functional Outcomes in Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Patients Treated with Concurrent Chemoradiation Therapy within City of Hope Cancer Center Sites, Journal of Clinical Medicine. 9 (2020).
• Massarelli E. Role of immunotherapy and co-mutations on KRAS-mutant non-small cell lung cancer survival, J Thorac Dis. (2020).
• Massarelli E, Lam VK, Parra ER, Rodriguez-Canales J, Behrens C, Diao L, Wang J, Blando J, Byers LA, Yanamandra N, Brett S, Morley P, Sharma P, Allison J, Wistuba II, Heymach JV. High OX-40 expression in the tumor immune infiltrate is a favorable prognostic factor of overall survival in non-small cell lung cancer, Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer. 7 (2019).
• Massarelli E, William WN, Johnson F, Kies MS, Ferrarotto R, Guo M, Feng L, Lee JJ, Tran HT,  Kim Y, Haymaker C, Bernatchez C, Curran MA, Barrese TZ, Canales JR,Wistuba II, Li L, Wang J, van der Burg SH, Melief CJM, Glisson BS. Combining Immune Checkpoint Blockade and Tumor-Specific Vaccine for Patients With Incurable Human Papillomavirus 16-Related Cancer: A Phase 2 Clinical Trial, JAMA Oncology. (2018).
• 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, Annals of Oncology. 26 (2015) 1476–1480.
• Massarelli E, Onn A, Marom EM, Alden CM, Liu DD, Tran HT, Mino B, Wistuba II, Faiz SA, Bashoura L, Eapen GA, Morice RC, Jack Lee J, Hong WK, Herbst RS, Jimenez CA. Vandetanib and Indwelling Pleural Catheter for Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer With Recurrent Malignant Pleural Effusion. Clin Lung Cancer 15(5):379-86. 9/2014.
• Massarelli E, Papadimitrakopoulou V, Welsh J, Tang C, Tsao AS. Immunotherapy in Lung Cancer. Translational Lung Cancer Research 3(1):53-63, 2/2014
• Massarelli E, Johnson FM, Erickson HS, Wistuba II, Papadimitrakopoulou V. Uncommon Epithelial Growth Factor Receptor Mutations in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer and their Mechanisms of EGFR Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors Sensitivity and Resistance. Lung Cancer 80(3):235-41, 6/2013.
• Massarelli E, Saintigny P, Lin S, Ahn YH, Chen Y, Goswami S, Erez B, O'Reilly MS, Liu D, Lee JJ, Zhang L, Ping Y, Behrens C, Solis Soto LM, Heymach JV, Kim ES, Herbst RS, Lippman SM, Wistuba II, Hong WK, Kurie JM, Koo JS. CXCR2 expression in tumor cells is a poor prognostic factor and promotes invasion and metastasis in lung adenocarcinoma. Cancer Res 73(2):571-82, 1/2013.
• Kies MS, Holsinger FC, Lee JJ, William WN Jr., Glisson BS, Lin HY, Lewin JS, Ginsberg LE, Gillaspy A, Massarelli E, Byers L, Lippman SM, Hong WK, El-Naggar AK, Garden AS, Papadimitrakopoulou V. Induction chemotherapy and cetuximab for locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck: results from a phase II prospective trial. J Clin Oncol 28(1):8-14, 1/2010.
• Massarelli E, Varella-Garcia M, Tang X, Ozburn N, Xavier C, Liu DD, Bekele BN, Herbst RS, Wistuba II. KRAS mutation is an important predictor of resistance to therapy with Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Tyrosine Kinase inhibitors in non-small cell lung cancer. Clin Cancer Res 13(10):2890-2896, 5/2007.
• Massarelli E, Herbst RS. Use of Novel Targeted Therapies in Second-line Non-small-cell Lung Cancer. Semin Oncol 33((1 Suppl 1)):9- 16, 2/2006.
• Massarelli E, Brown E, Tran N, Liu DD, Izzo JG, Lee JJ, El-Naggar AK, Hong WK, Papadimitrakopoulou V. Loss of E-cadherin and p27 Expression is Associated with Head and Neck Squamous Tumorigenesis. Cancer 103(5):952-9, 2005.
• Fujimoto N, Wislez M, Zhang J, Iwanaga K, Dactor J, Hanna AE, Kalyankrishna S, Cody DD, Price RE, Sato M, Shay JW, Minna JD, Peyton M, Tang X, Massarelli E, Herbst R, Threadgill DW, Wistuba II, Kurie JM. High expression of ErbB family members and their ligands in lung adenocarcinoma that are sensitive to inhibition of epidermal growth factor receptor. Cancer Res 65(24):11478-85, 12/2005.
• Massarelli E, Liu DD, Lee JJ, El-Naggar AK, Lo Muzio L, Staibana S, De Placido S, Myers JN, Papadimitrakopoulou VA. Akt activation correlates with adverse outcome in tongue cancer. Cancer 104(11):2430-6, 12/2005.
• Gridelli C, Massarelli E, Maione P, Rossi A, Herbst RS, Onn A. Ciardiello F. Potential role of molecularly targeted therapy in the management of advanced non-small cell lung carcinoma in the elderly. Cancer 101(8):1733-44, 2004.
• Massarelli E, Andre F, Liu DD, Lee JJ, Wolf M, Fandi A, Ochs J, Le Chevalier T, Fossella F, Herbst RS. A retrospective analysis of the outcome of patients who have received two prior chemotherapy regimens including platinum and docetaxel for recurrent non- small cell lung cancer. Lung Cancer 39(1):55-61, 2003.