Meet the experts

Teresa Troiani is an Associate Professor at Medical Oncology, Department of Precision Medicine of University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”. She was awarded her degree as specialist in Medical Oncology in 2004 and her PhD in 2008. She completed her research training for almost 2 years at the University of Colorado Health Science Centre, Denver, CO, USA. During these 2 years she was involved in a translational programme for developing new targeted agents in colorectal cancer disease. After completing her medical school studies, she was awarded a Fellowship in Oncology at the “Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II” and decided to join the laboratory of Prof. Ciardiello and Prof. Tortora. Dr Troiani has worked in their laboratory since 1998, studying the role of growth factors and their receptors in neoplastic transformation and the novel therapeutic strategies targeting growth factor receptor signalling. Her long-term interest is translational oncology, developing new therapeutic strategies and initiating clinical trials. She has run a series of translational research projects, with both clinical and basic science investigational arms, at an academic medical centre. During her career, she has learnt that to fight cancer is a big challenge and only by connecting the preclinical with the clinical work it is possible to make one piece of the wider puzzle. She is an active member of ESMO.

Viktor Grünwald is a professor for Interdisciplinary Urooncology at the University Hospital Essen. Professor Grünwald specialises in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology. His main areas of research interest are in renal cell carcinoma, soft tissue sarcomas, head and neck cancers, with an emphasis on the development of molecular and immunotherapies. Prof Grünwald graduated from the Medical School Hannover in 1998, after which he was appointed as a Private Lecturer in Haematology and Oncology at the same institution. He became professor for Haematology and Oncology at the Medical School Hannover in 2014. Professor Grünwald was appointed to the steering committee for genitourinary (GU) cancers (non-prostate) at the ESMO and ESMO ASIA Congress and is part of scientific committees of the International Kidney Cancer Symposium (EIKCS), German Cancer Congress (DKK) and the German Society for Hematology and Oncology (DGHO). He has co-chaired the Phase 3 Working Group of the Central European Society of Anticancer Drug Research (CESAR) studies group and a former member of the board of the German Medical Oncology studies group (AIO). Prof. Grünwald chairs the AIO Head and Neck (SCCHN) Working Group and within the AIO he is the former spokesman of the Sarcoma (STS) Working Group. Within the German Cancer Society, he chairs the Working Group for renal tumors (RCC) and is co-chair of the interdisciplinary head and neck tumors group. He chairs the ESMO preceptorship on SCCHN and is part of the faculty of the ECCO-AACR-EORTC-ESMO workshop on methods in clinical cancer research. His current trial proposals explore novel concepts in RCC, STS and SCCHN, focusing on translational research and drug development of immunotherapies in these indications.

Dr. Stockley is the Head of the Department of Clinical Laboratory Genetics at the University Health Network in Toronto. The Department is the largest molecular pathology laboratory service in Canada and consists of two labs, the translational Advanced Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory at the Princess Margaret Cancer Center, and the clinical Genome Diagnostics Laboratory at Toronto General Hospital. Dr. Stockley’s role at UHN includes oversight of genetic testing for oncology including companion diagnostics, genomic test development for clinical laboratory use, and applications of next-generation sequencing to clinical care. Dr. Stockley has an interest in quality improvement related to high-complexity laboratory testing, and has participated in standard development for molecular diagnostics with multiple national and international organizations including Health Canada, Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI), European Molecular Quality Network and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Dr. Stockley is an Associate Professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at the University of Toronto, and the current President of the Canadian College of Medical Geneticists.

Frédérique PENAULT-LLORCA, MD, PhD, graduated as a medical specialist in pathology in 1993 and in oncology in 1995. Also, in 1995, she received a PhD from the Université d’Aix-Marseille II in cellular biology and microbiology, on the topic of HER2. Professor PENAULT-LLORCA is currently professor of Pathology at the University of Clermont-Ferrand, CEO of the Comprehensive Regional Cancer Institute Centre Jean PERRIN, deputy director of the research team INSERM 1240 IMoST, and head of the Molecular Biology Plateform at Centre Jean Perrin, Clermont-Ferrand, France, and Vice-President of UNICANCER GROUP. She chairs the Immuno- Oncology group at UNICANCER R&D. She is a member of several pathology and oncology societies (ESMO, ASCO, ECP, AIP, SFP. Her main areas of interest as a pathology being female cancers. Professor PENAULT-LLORCA has conducted various biomarkers-based research studies in breast, ovarian, colorectal, gastric, and lung cancer in relation to response to targeted therapies and immunotherapies. She also acts as a coordinating pathologist for various oncology trials. Professor PENAULT-LLORCA has written more than 440 peer-reviewed publications and several books on female cancers and biomarker testing methods and issues.

Ezra Cohen, MD, is co‐Director of the San Diego Center for Precision Immunotherapy and an internationally renowned translational researcher. A physician‐scientist, Dr. Cohen led an independently funded laboratory interested in mechanisms of action of novel therapeutics. He has made major contributions to targeted and immunotherapy. His research has received peer‐reviewed funding in the study of epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors, cell therapy, and immunotherapy in head and neck cancer. He has made major contributions to the understanding of critical signaling pathways, integration of novel agents into standard of care, and definition of mechanisms to overcome resistance to drug therapy. He has also recently co‐developed a personalized neoantigen vaccine using unique cancer mutations to boost an anti‐tumor immune response. Dr. Cohen is Associate Director for Translational Science and leader of the Solid Tumor Therapeutics research program at Moores Cancer Center. He brings his expertise and preeminent reputation in head and neck cancer research and patient care to solid tumor therapeutics. Among other roles, he is chair of the Protocol Review and Monitoring Committee (PRMC) and serves as a member of the Cancer Council, and the Cancer Center’s Executive Committee. Dr. Cohen recently served as editor‐in‐chief of Oral Oncology, the highest impact specialty journal in head and neck cancer, and currently serves as senior editor for Clinical Cancer Research. He has been the principal investigator on multiple studies of novel agents in head and neck cancer and other solid tumors in all phases of development including chemoprevention, phase I, II, and III trials. Dr. Cohen has authored more than 170 papers and has presented his research at national and international meetings. In addition, he has served as a grant reviewer for the NIH, American Association for Cancer Research, American Society of Clinical Oncology, and the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research. Dr. Cohen completed residencies in Family Medicine at the University of Toronto and in Internal Medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He completed a Hematology/Oncology fellowship at the University of Chicago where he was named chief fellow. Prior to his arrival in San Diego, Dr. Cohen was Co‐Director of the Head and Neck Cancer Program, Associate Director for Education and Program Director for the Hematology/ Oncology Fellowship at the University of Chicago Comprehensive Cancer Center. A dedicated educator, Dr. Cohen also mentored and developed young faculty in his program.

Prof. Rolfo is the Associate Director of Clinical Research at the Center for Thoracic Oncology, Tisch Cancer Institute in Mount Sinai System . In addition, he is Professor of Medicine at the Division of Hematology and Oncology at Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
From April 2018 to May 2021 he was serving as Director of Thoracic Medical Oncology and Director of Early Clinical Trials at the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center (UMGCCC), in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. In addition, he was appointed Professor of Medicine at the Division of Oncology at Maryland University, School of Medicine. Prof. Rolfo is Medical Oncologist focused in Thoracic Oncology, Drug Development and Translational Oncology.
From 2012 to March 2018 he was working as Director of the Phase I – Early Clinical Trials Unit, Director of the Clinical Trials Management Program at Antwerp University Hospital, and Senior Staff member of Thoracic Oncology Cluster at Antwerp University Hospital in Belgium. In addition he is Professor of Oncology at Antwerp University in the Center for Oncological Research (CORE) in Antwerp, Belgium,
Professor Rolfo graduated with a degree in medicine from the National University of Córdoba, Argentina in 1996; he then studied at the University of Milan and the National Cancer Institute of Milan, Italy, receiving European Oncology Board certification in 2003, followed by Spanish Board Certification in Medical Oncology in 2007. He obtained a PhD and Doctor Europaeus in Clinical and Experimental Oncology Research cum laude from the University of Palermo, Italy in 2009 under the direction of Professor Rosell, and a Master of Business Health Administration from the Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain in 2010. He worked as clinical researcher in the Spanish Lung Cancer Group in Mallorca, Spain for 8 years.
He is actively working on drug development and Lung cancer & Mesothelioma treatment. His research is focused in molecular oncology and Immunotherapy in Thoracic Oncology and in a pan-tumoral approach, using new techniques in liquid biopsies, specifically in exosome isolation and circulating free tumour DNA. His group identify ALK translocation in exosomes in NSCLC patients, showed, for the first time, the videos of labeled EVs uptake by living lung cancer cells. He is currently working in the identification of new biomarkers involved in immunotherapy and TKI drug-resistance. In Drug development Prof. Rolfo contributed to the development of several compounds including Erlotinib, pharmacokinetics of Olaparib, Entrectinib among several drugs in early phase.

Dept. of Medical Sciences – University of Turin
Pathology Unit, FPO-IRCCS Candiolo Cancer Institute, strada provinciale 142, 10060 Candiolo

Caterina Marchiò, MD PhD, obtained her medical degree at The University of Turin graduating summa cum laude in 2004. She completed her PhD in 2008 after working in collaboration between the University of Turin and the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre at the Institute of Cancer Research in London between 2006 and 2008. Upon completion of the residency in Pathology at the University of Turin she visited as a Research Scholar the Department of Pathology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre in New York in 2014.
She joined the faculty at the University of Turin as an Assistant Professor of pathology at the end of 2014 and she was appointed Associate Professor of Pathology in 2018. Between 2017 and 2018 she served as Visiting Professor at the Pathology Department of Institut Curie in Paris, as a Mayent-Rotschild grantee.
Prof. Caterina Marchiò is a diagnostic and experimental pathologist at the Pathology Unit of FPO-IRCCS Candiolo Cancer Institute (University of Turin). Her routine diagnostic activity focuses on breast pathology and molecular diagnostics of solid tumors, including sign-out for in situ hybridization, DNA sequencing and RNA-based assays applied to diagnostics. Her research interests span from histopathogenesis of breast carcinomas to molecular pathology of special histologic types of breast cancer and genetics of HER2-positive carcinomas. A specific interest in HER2-equivocal breast cancer has been funded by the Italian Association of Cancer Research (AIRC), Regione Piemonte and the Ministry of University, Education and Research. She has also actively worked on the standardization of the preanalytical conditions in Pathology to ensure optimal tissue preservation and quality of DNA, RNA and antigens. She is part of the SPIDIA4P consortium, funded by the European Community (H2020-SC1-2016-2017, EU project 733112 – “SPIDIA4P – SPIDIA for Personalized Medicine).

Short biography
Frédéric Bibeau, MD, PhD, is a Professor of Pathology at the head of the Pathology Department of the Caen University Hospital, Normandy University. He is involved translational research, in immunoncology of solid tumors and in gastrointestinal tumor pathology, notably colorectal cancer, both at the diagnostic and research levels. For ten years his work has been focused on rectal cancer, microsatellite instable colorectal cancer, liver metastases after induction treatment, peritoneal carcinomatosis and predictive factors linked to targeted therapies and immunotherapy. He also involved national and international groups specialized in rare tumors of the peritoneum. He is one of two coordinators of the BIG-RENAPE network, corresponding to a biological and clinical database dedicated to peritoneal carcinomatosis of digestive origin.
Professor Bibeau is author or co-author of 179 publications. He belongs to the board of national and international reviews. He is a member of the French Society of Pathology, International Academy of Pathology and the European Society of Medical Oncology.
List of publications
Thierry A, Mouliere F, Messaoudi S, Rolet F, Lamy PJ, Lopez-Crapez E, Mollevi C, Bibeau F, Loriot V,Gongorra C, Del Rio M, Molina F, Mathonnet M, Pezet D, Ychou M.Clinical validation of KRAS and BRAF mutations from circulating DNA. Nat Med 2014; 20: 430-435.
Garrigou S, Perkins G, Garlan F, Normand C, Didelot A, Le Corre D, Peyvandi S, Mulot C, Niarra R, Aucouturier P, Chatellier G, Nizard P, Perez-Toralla K, Zonta E, Charpy C, Pujals A, Barau C, Bouché O, Emile JF, Pezet D, Bibeau F, Hutchison JB, Link DR, Zaanan A, Laurent-Puig P, Sobhani I, Taly V. A Study of Hypermethylated Circulating Tumor DNA as a Universal Colorectal Cancer Biomarker.Clin Chem. 2016 Aug;62(8):1129-39.
Boissière-Michot F, Frugier H, Ho-Pun-Cheung A, Lopez-Crapez E, Duffour J, Bibeau F. Immunohistochemical staining for p16 and BRAFV600E is useful to distinguish between sporadic and hereditary (Lynch syndrome-related) microsatellite instable colorectal carcinomas. Virchows Arch. 2016 Aug;469(2):135-44.
El Messaoudi S, Mouliere F, Du Manoir S, Bascoul-Mollevi C, Gillet B, Nouaille M, Fiess C, Crapez E, Bibeau F, Theillet C, Mazard T, Pezet D, Mathonnet M, Ychou M, Thierry AR. Circulating DNA as a Strong Multimarker Prognostic Tool for Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Patient Management Care. Clin Cancer Res. 2016 Jun 15;22(12):3067-77.
Solass W, Sempoux C, Detlefsen S, Carr NJ, Bibeau F. Peritoneal sampling and histological assessment of therapeutic response in peritoneal metastasis:proposal of the Peritoneal Regression Grading Score (PRGS). Pleura Peritoneum.2016 Jun 1;1(2):99-107. doi: 10.1515/pp-2016-0011.
Del Rio M, Mollevi C, Bibeau F, Vie N, Selves J, Emile JF, Roger P, Gongora C, Robert J, Tubiana-Mathieu N, Ychou M, Martineau P. Molecular subtypes of metastatic colorectal cancer are associated with patient response to irinotecan-based therapies. Eur J Cancer. 2017 May;76:68-75.
Norman J Carr, Frederic Bibeau, Robert F Bradley, Peggy Dartigues, Roger Feakins, Kim R Geisinger, Xianyong Gui, Sylvie Isaac, Massimo Milione, Joseph Misdraji, Reetesh Pai, Manuel Rodriguez-Justo, Leslie H Sobin, Marie-Louise van Velthuysen, Rhonda K Yantiss. The histopathological classification, diagnosis and differential diagnosis of mucinous appendiceal neoplasms, appendiceal adenocarcinomas and pseudomyxoma peritonei. Histopathology 2017.

Cohen R, Buhard O, Cervera P, Hain E, Dumont S, Bardier A, Bachet JB, Gornet JM, Lopez-Trabada D, Dumont S, Kaci R, Bertheau P, Renaud F, Bibeau F, Parc Y,Vernerey D, Duval A, Svrcek M, André T. Clinical and molecular characterization of hereditary and sporadic metastatic colorectal cancers harbouring microsatellite instability/DNA mismatch repair deficiency. Eur J Cancer. 2017Nov;86:266-274.
Cherradi S, Ayrolles-Torro A, Vezzo-Vié N, Gueguinou N, Denis V, Combes E,Boissière F, Busson M, Canterel-Thouennon L, Mollevi C, Pugnière M, Bibeau F, Ychou M, Martineau P, Gongora C, Del Rio M. Antibody targeting of claudin-1 as a potential colorectal cancer therapy. J Exp Clin Cancer Res. 2017 Jun 28;36(1):89.
Prieur A, Cappellini M, Habif G, Lefranc MP, Mazard T, Morency E, PascussiJM, Flacelière M, Cahuzac N, Vire B, Dubuc B, Durochat A, Liaud P, Ollier J,Pfeiffer C, Poupeau S, Saywell V, Planque C, Assenat E, Bibeau F, Bourgaux JF,Pujol P, Sézeur A, Ychou M, Joubert D. Targeting the Wnt Pathway and Cancer Stem Cells with Anti-progastrin Humanized Antibodies as a Potential Treatment forK-RAS-Mutated Colorectal Cancer. Clin Cancer Res. 2017 Sep 1;23(17):5267-5280.doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-17-0533
Cohen R, Hain E, Buhard O, Guilloux A, Bardier A, Kaci R, Bertheau P, Renaud F, Bibeau F, Fléjou JF, André T, Svrcek M, Duval A. Association of Primary Resistance to Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer With Misdiagnosis of MicrosatelliteInstability or Mismatch Repair Deficiency Status. JAMA Oncol. 2018 Nov 15.
Quénet F, Pissas MH, Gil H, Roca L, Carrère S, Sgarbura O, Rouanet P, deForges H, Khellaf L, Deshayes E, Ychou M, Bibeau F. Two-stage hepatectomy forcolorectal liver metastases: Pathologic response to preoperative chemotherapy is associated with second-stage completion and longer survival. Surgery. 2019Apr;165(4):703-711.
Péron J, Mercier F, Tuech JJ, Younan R, Sideris L, Gelli M, Dumont F, Le Roy B, Sgarbura O, Lo Dico R, Bibeau F, Glehen O, Passot G; on behalf BIG-RENAPEworking groups. The location of the primary colon cancer has no impact onoutcomes in patients undergoing cytoreductive surgery for peritoneal metastasis. Surgery. 2019 Feb;165(2):476-484.
Luchini C, Bibeau F, Ligtenberg MJL, Singh N, Nottegar A, Bosse T, Miller R,Riaz N, Douillard JY, Andre F, Scarpa A. ESMO recommendations on microsatelliteinstability testing for immunotherapy in cancer, and its relationship withPD-1/PD-L1 expression and tumour mutational burden: a systematic review-based approach. Ann Oncol. 2019 May 6.
Boutanos C, Capdepont M, Svrcek M, Thélu F, Guedj N, Poizat F, Bibeau F,Turlin B, Rousseau A, Bardier A, Selves J, Desrousseaux M, Le Pessot F, Bonhomme B, Laverrière MH, Julié C, Eyremandi RP, Stanislas S, Bazille C, Daubech A,Lazure T, Bordier MS, Demoures A, Rullier A. National multicentric evaluation of quality of pathology reports for rectal cancer in France in 2016. Virchows Arch. 2019 May;474(5):561-568.
Solass W, Sempoux C, Carr NJ, Bibeau F, Neureiter D, Jäger T, Di Caterino T,Brunel C, Klieser E, Fristrup CW, Mortensen MB, Detlefsen S. Reproducibility of the peritoneal regression grading score for assessment of response to therapy in peritoneal metastasis. Histopathology. 2019 Jun;74(7):1014-1024. doi:10.1111/his.13829.
C. Marchiò, M. Scaltriti, M. Ladanyi, A. J. Iafrate, F. Bibeau, M. Dietel, J. F. Hechtman, T. Troiani, F. López-Rios, JY Douillard, F. Andrè, J. S. Reis-Filho. ESMO recommendations on the standard methods to detect NTRK fusions in daily practice and clinical research. Ann Oncol.

López-Ríos F, Illei PB, Rusch V, Ladanyi M. Multiple lines of evidence against a role for SV40 infection in human mesotheliomas and high risk of false-positive SV40 PCR results due to presence of SV40 sequences in common laboratory plasmids. Lancet 2004; 364: 1157-1166.

Conde E, Angulo B, Tang M, Morente M, Torres-Lanzas J, López-Encuentra A, López-Ríos F, Sánchez-Céspedes M. Molecular context of the epidermal growth factor receptor mutations: evidence for the activation of mTOR/S6K signalling. Clin Cancer Res 2006; 12: 710-717.

López-Ríos F, Chuai S, Flores R, Shimizu S, Ohno T, Wakahara K, Illei PB, Hussain S, Krug L, Zakowski MF, Rusch V, Olshen AB, Ladanyi M. Global gene expression profiling of pleural mesotheliomas. Overexpression of aurora kinases and P16/CDKN2A deletion as prognostic factors and critical evaluation of microarray-based prognostic prediction. Cancer Res 2006; 66: 2970-2979.

López-Ríos F, Sánchez-Aragó M, García-García E, Ortega AD, Berrendero JR, Pozo-Rodríguez F, López-Encuentra A, Ballestín C, Cuezva JM. Loss of the mitochondrial bioenergetic capacity underlies the glucose avidity of Carcinomas. Cancer Res 2007; 67: 9013-9017.

Angulo B, Suarez-Gauthier A, López-Ríos F, Medina PP, Conde E, Tang M, Soler G, Lopez-Encuentra A, Cigudosa JC, Sanchez-Cespedes M. Expression signatures in lung cancer reveal a profile for EGFR-mutant tumours and identify selective PIK3CA overexpression by gene amplification. J Pathol 2008; 214: 347-356.

Agulló-Ortuño MT, López-Ríos F, Paz-Ares L. Lung cancer genomic signatures. J Thorac Oncol 2010; 5: 1673-1691.

Thunnissen E, Bubendorf L, Dietel M, Elmberger G, Kerr K, Lopez-Rios F, Moch H, Olszewski W, Pauwels P, Penault-Llorca F, Rossi G. EML4-ALK testing in non-small cell carcinomas of the lung: a review with recommendations. Virchows Arch 2012; 461: 245-257.

Conde E, Angulo B, Izquierdo E, Muñoz L, Suárez-Gauthier A, Plaza C, Dominguez N, Torres M, Madrigal L, Rubio-Viqueira B, Belda-Iniesta C, Hidalgo M, López-Ríos F. The ALK translocation in advanced non-small-cell lung carcinomas: preapproval testing experience at a single cancer centre. Histopathology 2013; 62: 609-616.

Conde E, Suárez-Gauthier A, Benito A, Garrido P, García-Campelo R, Biscuola M, Paz-Ares L, Hardisson D, de Castro J, Camacho MC, Rodriguez-Abreu D, Abdulkader I, Ramirez J, Reguart N, Salido M, Pijuán L, Arriola E, Sanz J, Folgueras V, Villanueva N, Gómez-Román J, Hidalgo M, López-Ríos F. Accurate identification of ALK positive lung carcinoma patients: novel FDA-cleared automated fluorescence in situ hybridization scanning system and ultrasensitive immunohistochemistry. PLoS One 2014; 9: e107200.

Bubendorf L, Büttner R, Al-Dayel F, Dietel M, Elmberger G, Kerr K, López-Ríos F, Marchetti A, Öz B, Pauwels P, Penault-Llorca F, Rossi G, Ryška A, Thunnissen E. Testing for ROS1 in non-small cell lung cancer: a review with recommendations. Virchows Arch 2016; 469: 489-503.

Kerr KM, López-Ríos F. Precision medicine in NSCLC and pathology: how does ALK fit in the pathway? Ann Oncol. 2016: Suppl 3:iii16-iii24.

Büttner R, Gosney JR, Skov BG, Adam J, Motoi N, Bloom KJ, Dietel M, Longshore JW, López-Ríos F, Penault-Llorca F, Viale G, Wotherspoon AC, Kerr KM, Tsao MS. Programmed Death-Ligand 1 Immunohistochemistry Testing: A Review of Analytical Assays and Clinical Implementation in Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer. J Clin Oncol 2017; 35: 3867-3876.

Conde E, Caminoa A, Dominguez C, Calles A, Walter S, Angulo B, Sánchez E, Alonso M, Jimenez L, Madrigal L, Hernando F, Sanz-Ortega J, Jimenez B, Garrido P, Paz-Ares L, de Castro J, Hernandez S, Lopez-Rios F. Aligning digital CD8(+) scoring and targeted next-generation sequencing with programmed death ligand 1 expression: a pragmatic approach in early-stage squamous cell lung carcinoma. Histopathology 2018; 72: 270-284.

Yatabe Y, Dacic S, Borczuk AC, Warth A, Russell PA, Lantuejoul S, Beasley MB, Thunnissen E, Pelosi G, Rekhtman N, Bubendorf L, Mino-Kenudson M, Yoshida A, Geisinger KR, Noguchi M, Chirieac LR, Bolting J, Chung JH, Chou TY, Chen G, Poleri C, Lopez-Rios F, Papotti M, Sholl LM, Roden AC, Travis WD, Hirsch FR, Kerr KM, Tsao MS, Nicholson AG, Wistuba I, Moreira AL. Best Practices Recommendations for Diagnostic Immunohistochemistry in Lung Cancer. J Thorac Oncol 2019; 14: 377-407.

Büttner R, Longshore JW, López-Ríos F, Merkelbach-Bruse S, Normanno N, Rouleau E, Penault-Llorca F. Implementing TMB measurement in clinical practice: considerations on assay requirements. ESMO Open 2019; 4: e000442.

Dr. Andrea Sartore-Bianchi is head of Clinical Molecular Oncology at the Department of Hematology & Oncology, Niguarda Cancer Center, Milano, Italy. He completed his medical degree at the University of Pavia in 1999, and undertook specialist training at IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo. After completing his doctoral studies, he conducted preclinical research at the Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Experimental Cancer Therapeutics in the Department of Medicine at Brown University, Rhode Island, USA.

Dr. Sartore-Bianchi’s main clinical and research interests include the treatment of gastrointestinal cancers, particularly colorectal carcinomas, focusing on biomarkers of sensitivity/resistance to molecular-targeted therapies and on the epidermal growth factor receptor signal transduction pathway. He is principal and co-investigator in Phase I-II-III clinical trials for gastrointestinal malignancies, and first author of research articles in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Cancer Research, Clinical Cancer Research and PLoS One. Currently, he is adjunct Professor for the School of Specialization in Oncology and Pharmacology at the University of Milano. He has been listed among the top 30 authors of primary research papers on cancer.

Prof. Erin Rudzinski completed her undergraduate degree at Berry College, graduating magna cum laude in 1999. She obtained her medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia in 2003. Dr. Rudzinski completed her anatomic and clinical pathology residency at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 2007. Following her residency, she completed an additional anatomic pathology fellowship year at Vanderbilt, followed by a pediatric pathology fellowship at Seattle Children’s Hospital/University of Washington Medical Center. She joined the staff at Seattle Children’s Hospital in 2009, and she is currently a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology at the University of Washington.
Dr. Rudzinski specializes in pediatric solid tumors, with a focus on pediatric soft tissue tumors. The goal of her research is improving the morphologic and molecular classification of pediatric soft tissue tumors, including the development of ancillary diagnostic biomarkers (ie. immunohistochemistry). Dr. Rudzinski is an active member of the Children’s Oncology Group, the College of American Pathologists, and the Society for Pediatric Pathology.
Relevant Publications
Patel S, Rudzinski ER, Perkins J. Congenital neurocristic tumor of the head and neck. The Laryngoscope, 2013 Mar;123(3):805-8.
Skapek SX, Hawkins DS, Anderson J, Barr FG, Bridge J, Gastier-Foster JM, Parham DM, Rudzinski ER, Triche T. PAX-FOXO1 fusion status drives unfavorable outcome for children with rhabdomyosarcoma: A Children’s Oncology Group report. Pediatric Blood and Cancer. 2013 Sep;60(9):1411-7.
Rudzinski ER, Teot LA, Anderson JR, Moore JA, Bridge JA, Barr FG, Gastier-Foster JM, Skapek SX, Hawkins DS, Parham DM. The dense pattern of embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, a lesion easily confused with alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma: A report from the Soft Tissue Sarcoma Committee of the Children’s Oncology Group. American Journal of Clinical Pathology. 2013, Jul;140(1):82-90.
Rudzinski ER, Anderson JR, Lyden ER et al. Myogenin, AP2β, NOS-1 and HMGA2 are surrogate markers of fusion status in rhabdomyosarcoma: A report from the Soft Tissue Sarcoma Committee of the Children’s Oncology Group. American Journal of Surgical Pathology. 2014, May;38(5):654-659.
Rudzinski ER, Anderson JR, Hawkins DH et al. The World Health Organization classification of skeletal muscle tumors in pediatric rhabdomyosarcoma: A report from the Children’s Oncology Group. Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. 2015;139(10):1281-7.
Arnold MA, Anderson JR, Gastier-Foster JM, Barr FG, Skapek SX, Hawkins DS, Raney RB, Parham DM, Teot LA, Rudzinski ER and Walterhouse DO. Histology, Fusion Status and Outcome in Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma with Low-Risk Clinical Features: A Report from the Children’s Oncology Group. Pediatric Blood and Cancer. 2016;63(4):634-9.
Siegele B, Roberts J, Black JO, Rudzinski ER, Vargas SO, Galambos C. DUX4 Immunohistochemistry is a highly sensitive and specific marker for CIC-DUX4 fusion-positive round cell tumor. Am J Surg Pathol 2017;41(3):423-429.
Pinto N, Park JR, Murphy E, Yearley J, McClanahan T, Annamalai L, Hawkins DS, Rudzinski ER. Patterns of PD-1, PDL-1 and PDL-2 expression in pediatric solid tumors. Pediatric Blood and Cancer 2017 64(11)
Rudzinski ER, Anderson JR, Ch YY, et al. Histology, fusion status and outcome in metastatic rhabdomyosarcoma: a report from the Children’s Oncology Group. Pediatric Blood and Cancer 2017 64(12)
Davis JL, Lockwood CM, Tsuchiya K, Albert C, Hawkins DS, Rudzinski ER. Infantile NTRK-associated mesenchymal tumors. Pediatric and Developmental Pathology. 2018 21(1):68-78.
Drilon A, Laetsch TW, Kummar S, DuBois SG, Lassen UN, Demetri GD, Nathenson M, Doebele RC, Farago AF, Pappo AS, Turpin B, Dowlati A, Brose MS, Mascarenhas L, Federman N, Berlin J, El-Deiry WS, Baik C, Deeken J, Boni V, Nagasubramanian R, Taylor M, Rudzinski ER, Meric-Bernstam F, Sohal DPS, Ma P, Raez LE, Hechtman JF, Benayed R, Ladanyi M, Tuch BB, Ebata K, Cruickshank S, Ku N, Cox MC, Hawkins DS, Hong DS, Hyman DM. Efficacy of Larotrectinib in TRK fusion-positive adult and pediatric cancers. New England Journal of Medicine 2018 Feb 22;387(8):731-739.
Laetsch TW, Dubois SG, Turpin B, Federman N, Mascarenhas L, Albert CM, Nagasubramanian R, Davis JL, Rudzinski ER, Feraco A, Tuch BB, Ebata KT, Reynods M, Smith S, Cruickshank S, Cox MC, Pappo AS, Hawkins DS. Larotrectinib for paediatric solid tumours harbouring NTRK gene fusions: a multicenter, open-label, phase 1 study. Lancet Oncology. 2018;19(5):705-714.
Rudzinski ER, Lockwood CM, Stohr BA, Vargas SO, Sheridan R, Black JO, Rajaram V, Laetsch TW, Davis JL. Pan-Trk immunohistochemistry identifies NTRK rearrangements in pediatric mesenchymal tumors. Am J Surg Pathol 2018;42(7):927-935.
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