Thinzar Min Lwin, M.D., M.S.

Driven by her dedication to fighting cancer, surgical oncologist Thinzar Lwin, M.D., was attracted to her specialty as it provides her with the most direct way to profoundly impact the lives of those affected. Dr. Lwin's goal is to improve the quality and longevity of life for her patients, offering them renewed hope and a brighter future. Central to Dr. Lwin's approach lies a philosophy of care rooted in professionalism and empathy. She firmly believes in delivering exceptional treatment with warmth and compassion, recognizing the significance of attentive listening to comprehend the unique needs and priorities of her patients and their families. By fostering robust connections, Dr. Lwin empowers her patients to actively participate in their healthcare journey, enabling them to make well-informed decisions. 

Dr. Lwin is a Harvard-trained surgical oncologist with clinical expertise in managing cancers that have metastasized within the abdomen. She performs complex cytoreductive surgeries, meticulously removing cancerous tissues, in conjunction with deploying leading-edge intraperitoneal therapies. Additionally, Dr. Lwin holds advanced certification in robotic surgery for gastrointestinal cancers using minimally invasive techniques that not only minimize adverse effects but also expedite the recovery process for her patients.

Beyond her clinical skills, Dr. Lwin is a surgeon-scientist. She has published over 50 peer-reviewed publications, with research highlighted in prominent journals such as Annals of Surgical Oncology, Journals of the American College of Surgeons, Nature - Biomedical Engineering, and Clinical Cancer Research. Her laboratory research is focused on advancing fluorescence-guided surgery and theranostics. These innovative techniques empower surgeons to visualize and treat cancers with improved precision, aiming to enhance oncologic outcomes for patients. 

Dr. Lwin’s contributions to the field have merited her membership in national and international societies for cancer and molecular imaging, including the Society for Surgical Oncology, Association of Women Surgeons, Association for Academic Surgeons and World Molecular Imaging Society, and is an advisory board member for the International Society for Fluorescence Guided Surgery.

Having grown up in Arcadia, California, close to the esteemed City of Hope's Los Angeles campus, Dr. Lwin maintains a deep connection to the diverse communities she serves. This fuels her commitment to delivering accessible and comprehensive care to individuals from all walks of life, ensuring that each patient receives excellent care.

Memberships

• 2021-present, American Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association
• 2021-present, Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract
• 2021-present, Society of Asian Academic Surgeons
• 2018-present, Association for Academic Surgery
• 2016-present, American Association for Cancer Research
• 2016-present, Society for Surgical Oncology (SSO)
• 2012-present, American College of Surgeon
• 2009-2013, NYMC Surgery Club (President 2010-2011)
• 2009-2013, Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association (Vice President 2010-2011)
• 2009-present, American Medical Women’s Association
• 2008-2009, Grad WISE, Women in Science and Engineering
• 2005-2009, Alpha Phi Omega, National Service Fraternity (Region X Conference Chair 2007-2008) (Chapter President 2006-2007, (Treasurer 2005-2006)

Awards

• 2020, SSO Resident/Fellow Essay Contest Basic Science Research
• 2016-2018, T32 Grant NIH/NCI Award T32CA121938
• 2015, Mt Sinai Beth Israel Surgical Skills Competition “Top Gun” Winner
• 2014, Norman M. Stoller Award for Outstanding Intern of the Year
• 2011, NYMC Student Research Forum (1st Place Basic Science Presentation)
• 2007-2009, Doris A. Howell Undergraduate Research Scholarship
• 2007-2008, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Undergraduate Research Scholarship
• 2007-2009, Undergraduate Student Research Grants
• 2004-2007, Provost Honor Roll, University of California San Diego
• 2005-2008, National Society of Collegiate Scholars

• Matson J, Lwin TM, Bouvet M. Rapid intraoperative perfusion assessment of parathyroid adenomas with ICG using a wide-field portable hand-held fluorescence imaging system. Am J Surg. Published online July 26, 2021:S0002-9610(21)00407-4.
• Lwin TM, Amirfakhri S, Nishino H, Debie P, Cosman BC, Hoffman RM, Hernot S, Bouvet M. Rapid tumor-labeling kinetics with a site-specific near-infrared anti-CEA nanobody in a patient-derived orthotopic xenograft mouse model of colon cancer. J Surg Oncol. Published online July 26, 2021.
• Turner MA, Amirfakhri S, Nishino H, Lwin TM, Savides TJ, Reid TR, Singer BB, Hoffman RM, Bouvet M. A patient-derived orthotopic xenograft model of gastroesophageal-junction adenocarcinoma translated to the clinic by tumor-targeting fluorescent antibodies to carcinoembryonic-antigen-related cell-adhesion molecules. In Vivo. 2021;35(4):1959-1963.
• Nishino H, Hollandsworth HM, Amirfakhri S, Tashiro Y, Yamamoto J, Turner MA, Lwin TM, Singer BB, Hoffman RM, Bouvet M. A novel color-coded liver metastasis mouse model to distinguish tumor and adjacent liver segment. J Surg Res. 2021;264:327-333.
• Lwin TM, Hoffman RM, Bouvet M. Unique benefits of tumor-specific nanobodies for fluorescence guided surgery. Biomolecules. 2021;11(2).
• Lwin TM, Hoffman RM, Bouvet M. Fluorescence-guided hepatobiliary surgery with long and short wavelength fluorophores. Hepatobiliary Surg Nutr. 2020;9(5):615-639.
• Lwin TM, Hoffman RM, Bouvet M. The future of tumour-specific fluorescence-guided surgery for pancreatic cancer. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2020;5(8):715-717.
• Lwin TM, Hernot S, Hollandsworth H, Amirfakhri S, Filemoni F, Debie P, Hoffman RM, Bouvet M. Tumor-specific near-infrared nanobody probe rapidly labels tumors in an orthotopic mouse model of pancreatic cancer. Surgery. 2020;168(1):85-91.
• Oshiro H, Tome Y, Kiyuna T, Yoon SN, Lwin TM, Han Q, Tan Y, Miyake K, Higuchi T, Sugisawa N, Katsuya Y, Park JH, Zang Z, Razmjooei S, Bouvet M, Clary B, Singh SR, Kanaya F, Nishida K, Hoffman RM. Oral Recombinant Methioninase Overcomes Colorectal-cancer Liver Metastasis Resistance to the Combination of 5-Fluorouracil Thinzar Min Lwin, MD MS Complex General and Surgical Oncology Fellow Dana Farber Cancer Institute | Massachusetts General Hospital | Brigham and Women’s Hospital Lwin 5 of 9 and Oxaliplatinum in a Patient-derived Orthotopic Xenograft Mouse Model. Anticancer Res. 2019;39(9):4667-4671.
• Yoon SN, Park JH, Lwin TM, Miyake K, Singh SR, Hoffman RM, Bouvet M. Tumor-sealing Surgical Orthotopic Implantation of Human Colon Cancer in Nude Mice Induces Clinically-relevant Metastases Without Early Peritoneal Carcinomatosis. Anticancer Res. 2019;39(8):4065-4071.
• Bouvet M, Lwin TM, Hoffman RM. RE: "Intraoperative near-infrared imaging can identify neoplasms and aid in real-time margin assessment during pancreatic resection". Ann Surg. 2019;270(1):21-22.
• Hollandsworth HM, Lwin TM, Amirfakhri S, Filemoni F, Batra SK, Hoffman RM, Dhawan P, Bouvet M. Anti-claudin-1 conjugated to a near-infrared fluorophore targets colon cancer in PDOX mouse models. J Surg Res. 2019;242:145-150.
• Miyake K, Murakami T, Zhao M, Kiyuna T, Kawaguchi K, Igarashi K, Miyake M, Lwin TM, Hozumi C, Komatsu S, Kikuchi T, Bouvet M, Shimoya K, Singh SR, Endo I, Hoffman RM. Tumor-targeting salmonella typhimurium A1-R overcomes nab-paclitaxel resistance in a cervical cancer PDOX mouse model. Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2019;299(6):1683-1690.
• Lwin TM, Miyake K, Murakami T, DeLong JC, Amirfakhri S, Filemoni F, Yoon SN, Yazaki PJ, Shivley JE, Datnow B, Clary BM, Hoffman RM, Bouvet M. Fluorescent humanized anti-CEA antibody specifically labels metastatic pancreatic cancer in a patient-derived orthotopic xenograft (PDOX) mouse model. Oncotarget. 2018;9(99):37333-37342.
• Lwin TM, Bouvet M. ASO Author reflections: Fluorescent anti-CEA IR800 for tumor labeling. Ann Surg Oncol. 2018.
• Lwin TM, Hoffman RM, Bouvet M. Advantages of patient-derived orthotopic mouse models and genetic reporters for developing fluorescence-guided surgery. J Surg Oncol. 2018;118(2):253-264.
• Kawaguchi K, Igarashi K, Miyake K, Lwin TM, Miyake M, Kiyuna T, Hwang HK, Murakami T, Delong JC, Singh SR, Clary B, Bouvet M, Unno M, Hoffman RM. MEK inhibitor trametinib in combination with gemcitabine regresses a patient-derived orthotopic xenograft (PDOX) pancreatic cancer nude mouse model. Tissue Cell. 2018;52:124-128.
• Lwin TM, Hoffman RM, Bouvet M. The development of fluorescence guided surgery for pancreatic cancer: from bench to clinic. Expert Rev Anticancer Ther. 2018.
• Kawaguchi K, Miyake K, Han Q, Han Q, Li S, Tan Y, Igarashi K, Lwin TM, Higuchi T, Kiyuna T, Miyake M, Oshiro H, Bouvet M, Unno M, Hoffman RM. Targeting altered Thinzar Min Lwin, MD MS Complex General and Surgical Oncology Fellow Dana Farber Cancer Institute | Massachusetts General Hospital | Brigham and Women’s Hospital Lwin 6 of 9 cancer methionine metabolism with recombinant methioninase (rMETase) overcomes partial gemcitabine-resistance and regresses a patient-derived orthotopic xenograft (PDOX) nude mouse model of pancreatic cancer. Cell Cycle. 2018;1-23.
• Lwin TM, Murakami T, Miyake K, Yazaki PJ, Shivley JE, Hoffman RM, Bouvet M. Tumor-Specific Labeling of Pancreatic Cancer Using a Humanized Anti-CEA Antibody Conjugated to a Near-Infrared Fluorophore. Ann Surg Oncol. 2018.
• Lwin TM, Leigh N, Iskandar ME, Steele JG, Wayne MG, Cooperman AM. Rare, Uncommon, and Unusual Complications After Pancreaticoduodenal Resection. Surg Clin North Am. 2018;98(1):87-94.
• Delong JC, Ward EP, Lwin TM, Brumund KT, Kelly KJ, Horgan S, Bouvet M. Indocyanine green fluorescence-guided parathyroidectomy for primary hyperparathyroidism. Surgery. 2017.
• Lwin TM, Hoffman RM, Bouvet M. Regarding the applications of fusion-fluorescence imaging using indocyanine green in laparoscopic hepatectomy. Translational Gastroenterology and Hepatology. 2017;2:9.
• Kawaguchi K, Igarashi K, Murakami T, Kiyuna T, Lwin TM, Hwang HK, Delong JC, Clary BM, Bouvet M, Unno M, Hoffman RM. MEK inhibitors cobimetinib and trametinib, regressed a gemcitabine-resistant pancreatic-cancer patient-derived orthotopic xenograft (PDOX). Oncotarget. 2017.
• Eckert MA, Santiago-Medina M, Lwin TM, Kim J, Courtneidge SA, Yang J. ADAM12 induction by Twist1 promotes tumor invasion and metastasis via regulation of invadopodia and focal adhesions. J Cell Sci. 2017;130(12):2036-2048.
• Murakami T, Hiroshima Y, Miyake K, Hwang HK, Kiyuna T, DeLong JC, Lwin TM, Matsuyama R, Mori R, Kumamoto T, Chishima T, Tanaka K, Ichikawa Y, Bouvet M, Endo I, Hoffman RM. Color-coded intravital imaging demonstrates a transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) antagonist selectively targets stromal cells in a human pancreatic-cancer orthotopic mouse model. Cell Cycle. 2017;16(10):1008-1014.
• Murakami T, Li S, Han Q, Tan Y, Kiyuna T, Igarashi K, Kawaguchi K, Hwang HK, Miyake K, Singh AS, Nelson SD, Dry SM, Li Y, Hiroshima Y, Lwin TM, DeLong JC, Chishima T, Tanaka K, Bouvet M, Endo I, Eilber FC, Hoffman RM. Recombinant methioninase effectively targets a Ewing's sarcoma in a patient-derived orthotopic xenograft (PDOX) nude-mouse model. Oncotarget. 2017;8(22):35630-35638.
• Murakami T, Kiyuna T, Kawaguchi K, Igarashi K, Singh AS, Hiroshima Y, Zhang Y, Zhao M, Miyake K, Nelson SD, Dry SM, Li Y, DeLong JC, Lwin TM, Chishima T, Tanaka K, Bouvet M, Endo I, Eilber FC, Hoffman RM. The irony of highly-effective bacterial therapy of a patient-derived orthotopic xenograft (PDOX) model of Ewing's sarcoma, which was blocked by Ewing himself 80 years ago. Cell Cycle. 2017;16(11):1046- 1052.
• Murakami T, Murata T, Kawaguchi K, Kiyuna T, Igarashi K, Hwang HK, Hiroshima Y, Hozumi C, Komatsu S, Kikuchi T, Lwin TM, Delong JC, Miyake K, Zhang Y, Tanaka K, Bouvet M, Endo I, Hoffman RM. Cervical Cancer Patient-Derived Orthotopic Xenograft (PDOX) Is Sensitive to Cisplatinum and Resistant to Nab-paclitaxel. Anticancer Res. 2017;37(1):61-65.
• Lwin TM, Galal N, Gera S, Marti JL. Adrenal Cushing syndrome with detectable ACTH from an unexpected source. BMJ Case Rep. 2016;2016.
• Lwin TM, Sicklick JK, Hoffman RM, Bouvet M. Fluorescence-guided laparoscopic hepatectomy. Ann Laparosc Endosc Surg 2016;1:10.
• Hiroshima Y, Lwin TM, Murakami T, Mawy AA, Kuniya T, Chishima T, Endo I, Clary BM, Hoffman RM, Bouvet M. Effective fluorescence-guided surgery of liver metastasis using a fluorescent anti-CEA antibody. J Surg Oncol. 2016.
• Eckert MA, Lwin TM, Chang AT, Kim J, Danis E, Ohno-Machado L, Yang J. Twist1- induced invadopodia formation promotes tumor metastasis. Cancer Cell. 2011; 19: 372-86.