EzraEwCohenMD

Oncology • San Diego, CA

Head & Neck Cancer, Hematologic Oncology

Professor of Medicine, UC San Diego // Associate Director, Translational Science at Moores Cancer Center

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Office
3855 Health Sciences Dr.
San Diego, CA 92093
Phone+1 858-534-6161
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Summary

I am a board-certified oncologist and cancer researcher. I care for patients with all types of head and neck cancers, including esophageal, thyroid and salivary gland cancers.

Much of my work has focused on squamous cell carcinomas and cancers of the thyroid, salivary gland, and HPV-related oropharyngeal cancers. As a physician-scientist, he is especially interested in developing novel therapies and understanding mechanisms of sensitivity or resistance; cancer screening; and using medication and other agents to delay or prevent cancer (chemoprevention). Additionally, I was recently appointed chair of the National Cancer Institute Head and Neck Cancer Steering Committee, which oversees NCI-funded clinical research in this disease.

Education & Training

University of ChicagoFellowship, Hematology and Medical Oncology, 1999 - 2002
Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/NorthwellResidency, Internal Medicine, 1996 - 1999
University of Toronto Faculty of MedicineClass of 1990

Certifications & Licensure

IL State Medical License 1999 - 2026
CA State Medical License 2014 - 2024
MA State Medical License 2011 - 2017
American Board of Internal Medicine Medical Oncology

Awards, Honors, & Recognition

CMS Meaningful Use Stage 1 Certification EpicCare Ambulatory EMR, Epic Systems Corporation, 2012

Clinical Trials

Docetaxel Based Chemotherapy Plus or Minus Induction Chemotherapy to Decrease Events in Head and Neck Cancer (DeCIDE) Start of enrollment: 2004 Nov 01
Completed
Phase 3
Rapamycin With Grapefruit Juice for Advanced Malignancies Start of enrollment: 2006 Sep 01
Completed
Phase 1
Erlotinib Prevention of Oral Cancer (EPOC) Start of enrollment: 2006 Nov 03
Completed
Phase 3
Drug Interaction Study of Sorafenib and Rapamycin in Advanced Malignancies Start of enrollment: 2006 Nov 01
Completed
Phase 1
Phase II Study of Skin Toxicity Dosing of IRESSA (Gefitinib) in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck Start of enrollment: 2005 Mar 01
Completed
Phase 2
Interaction Study of Rapamycin and Sunitinib in Patients With Advanced Cancers Start of enrollment: 2007 Oct 01
Completed
Early Phase 1
The Effects of Sorafenib on Molecular Barrett's Esophagus Cancer Start of enrollment: 2006 Jun 01
Terminated
Not Applicable
Rapamycin Plus Bevacizumab in Advanced Cancers Start of enrollment: 2008 Apr 01
Completed
Phase 1
Study of Rapamycin Plus Ketoconazole in Advanced Cancers Start of enrollment: 2004 Oct 01
Completed
Phase 1
Everolimus Versus Placebo in Head and Neck Cancer Start of enrollment: 2010 Apr 01
Terminated
Phase 2
Study in Locally Advanced Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck Start of enrollment: 2010 May 04
Terminated
Phase 2
Evaluation of Food Effect on Pharmacokinetics of Vismodegib Start of enrollment: 2009 Oct 01
Completed
Phase 1, Phase 2
Feasibility of Imaging in the Treatment of Patients With Advanced Head and Neck Cancer Start of enrollment: 2011 Apr 19
Completed
Early Phase 1
Vandetanib in Preventing Head and Neck Cancer in Patients With Precancerous Head and Neck Lesions Start of enrollment: 2012 Jan 01
Completed
Phase 2
Chemotherapy Plus Cetuximab in Combination With VTX-2337 in Patients With Recurrent or Metastatic Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck Start of enrollment: 2013 Oct 14
Completed
Phase 2
Pembrolizumab in Treating Participants With Leukoplakia Start of enrollment: 2019 May 03
Recruiting
Phase 2
SPEARHEAD 2 Study in Subjects With Recurrent or Metastatic Head and Neck Cancer Start of enrollment: 2020 Jul 02
Withdrawn
Phase 2
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Publications & Presentations

PubMed

Facts and Hopes in Neoadjuvant Immunotherapy: Current Approvals and Emerging Evidence.
Poorva Vaidya, Ezra E W Cohen> ;Clinical Cancer Research. 2024 Apr 1
An Era of Advances in Systemic Therapies for Advanced Thyroid Cancer.
Karen M Yun, Ezra E W Cohen> ;JCO Oncology Practice. 2024 Mar 7
A functional identification platform reveals frequent, spontaneous neoantigen-specific T cell responses in patients with cancer.
Aaron M Miller, Zeynep Koşaloğlu-Yalçın, Luise Westernberg, Leslie Montero, Milad Bahmanof, Angela Frentzen, Manasa Lanka, Ashmitaa Logandha Ramamoorthy Premlal, Grego...> ;Science Translational Medicine. 2024 Feb 28
1 citations
Metastatic gastric cancer target lesion complete response with Claudin18.2-CAR T cells.
Botta, G., Chao, J., Ma, H., Hahn, M., Sierra, G., Jia, J., Hendrix, A., Nolte Fong, J., Ween, A., Vu, P., Miller, A., Choi, M., Heyman, B., Daniels, G., Kaufman, D., ...> ;Journal for Immunotherapy of Cancer. 2024 Feb 5
Safety profile of pembrolizumab monotherapy based on an aggregate safety evaluation of 8937 patients.
Brahmer, J., Long, G., Hamid, O., Garon, E., Herbst, R., Andre, T., Armand, P., Bajorin, D., Bellmunt, J., Burtness, B., Choueiri, T., Cohen, E., Diaz, L., Shitara, K....> ;European Journal of Cancer. 2024 Mar 1
2 citations
Nivolumab for Patients With High-Risk Oral Leukoplakia: A Nonrandomized Controlled Trial.
Glenn J Hanna, Alessandro Villa, Shuvro P Nandi, Ruichao Shi, Anne ONeill, Mofei Liu, Charles T Quinn, Nathaniel S Treister, Herve Y Sroussi, Piamkamon Vacharotayangul...> ;JAMA Oncology. 2024 Jan 1
Pan-Cancer Analysis of Patient Tumor Single-Cell Transcriptomes Identifies Promising Selective and Safe Chimeric Antigen Receptor Targets in Head and Neck Cancer.
Sanna Madan, Sanju Sinha, Tiangen Chang, J Silvio Gutkind, Ezra E W Cohen, Alejandro A Schäffer, Eytan Ruppin> ;Cancers. 2023 Oct 8
2 citations
Linked CD4+/CD8+ T cell neoantigen vaccination overcomes immune checkpoint blockade resistance and enables tumor regression.
Joseph S Dolina, Joey Lee, Spencer E Brightman, Sara McArdle, Samantha M Hall, Rukman R Thota, Karla S Zavala, Manasa Lanka, Ashmitaa Logandha Ramamoorthy Premlal, Jas...> ;The Journal of Clinical Investigation. 2023 Sep 1
Author Correction: Neoantigen-specific stem cell memory-like CD4T cells mediate CD8T cell-dependent immunotherapy of MHC class II-negative solid tumors.
Spencer E Brightman, Angelica Becker, Rukman R Thota, Martin S Naradikian, Leila Chihab, Karla Soria Zavala, Ashmitaa Logandha Ramamoorthy Premlal, Ryan Q Griswold, Jo...> ;Nature Immunology. 2023 Aug 1
10 citations
Neoantigen-specific stem cell memory-like CD4T cells mediate CD8T cell-dependent immunotherapy of MHC class II-negative solid tumors.
Spencer E Brightman, Angelica Becker, Rukman R Thota, Martin S Naradikian, Leila Chihab, Karla Soria Zavala, Ashmitaa Logandha Ramamoorthy Premlal, Ryan Q Griswold, Jo...> ;Nature Immunology. 2023 Aug 1
2 citations
Eganelisib, a First-in-Class PI3Kγ Inhibitor, in Patients with Advanced Solid Tumors: Results of the Phase 1/1b MARIO-1 Trial.
Hong, D., Postow, M., Chmielowski, B., Sullivan, R., Patnaik, A., Cohen, E., Shapiro, G., Steuer, C., Gutierrez, M., Yeckes-Rodin, H., Ilaria, R., O'Connell, B., Peng,...> ;Clinical Cancer Research. 2023 Jun 13
Evolving treatment paradigms in recurrent and metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: the emergence of immunotherapy.
Farhoud Faraji, Ezra E W Cohen, Theresa W Guo> ;Translational Cancer Research. 2023 May 31
Transoral Surgery in HPV-Positive Oropharyngeal Carcinoma: Oncologic Outcomes in the Veterans Affairs System.
Farhoud Faraji, Abhishek Kumar, Daniel Cherry, P Travis Courtney, Andrey Finegersh, Theresa Guo, Ezra Cohen, Joseph A Califano 3rd, Loren Mell, Brent Rose, Ryan K Oros...> ;The Laryngoscope. 2024 Jan 1
1 citations
A multicenter, open-label, randomized, phase II study of cediranib with or without lenalidomide in iodine 131-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer.
A J Rosenberg, C-Y Liao, T Karrison, J A de Souza, F P Worden, B Libao, M K Krzyzanowska, D N Hayes, E Winquist, V Saloura, K Prescott, V M Villaflor, T Y Seiwert, R B...> ;Annals of Oncology. 2023 Aug 1
11 citations
Human papillomavirus E5 suppresses immunity via inhibition of the immunoproteasome and STING pathway.
Sayuri Miyauchi, Sangwoo S Kim, Riley N Jones, Lin Zhang, Kripa Guram, Sonia Sharma, Stephen P Schoenberger, Ezra E W Cohen, Joseph A Califano, Andrew B Sharabi> ;Cell Reports. 2023 May 30
3 citations
Expert Consensus Statement: Management of Dysphagia in Head and Neck Cancer Patients.
Maggie A Kuhn, M Boyd Gillespie, Stacey L Ishman, Lisa E Ishii, Rebecca Brody, Ezra Cohen, Shumon I Dhar, Kate Hutcheson, Gina Jefferson, Felicia Johnson, Anais Rameau...> ;Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery. 2023 Apr 1
5 citations
Tumor cells fail to present MHC-II-restricted epitopes derived from oncogenes to CD4+ T cells.
Spencer E Brightman, Martin S Naradikian, Rukman R Thota, Angelica Becker, Leslie Montero, Milad Bahmanof, Ashmitaa Logandha Ramamoorthy Premlal, Jason A Greenbaum, Bj...> ;JCI Insight. 2023 Jan 24
4 citations
A Randomized Multi-institutional Phase II Trial of Everolimus as Adjuvant Therapy in Patients with Locally Advanced Squamous Cell Cancer of the Head and Neck.
Cherie-Ann O Nathan, D Neil Hayes, Theodore Karrison, Olivier Harismendy, José M Flores, Tara Moore-Medlin, Everett E Vokes, J Silvio Gutkind, Prakash Neupane, Glenn M...> ;Clinical Cancer Research. 2022 Dec 1
11 citations
Somatic 9p24.1 alterations in HPVhead and neck squamous cancer dictate immune microenvironment and anti-PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor activity.
Xin Zhao, Ezra E W Cohen, William N William Jr, Joy J Bianchi, Jim P Abraham, Daniel Magee, David B Spetzler, J Silvio Gutkind, Ludmil B Alexandrov, Webster K Cavenee,...> ;Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2022 Nov 22
4 citations
A phase I study of avelumab, palbociclib, and cetuximab in patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
Michael J Dennis, Assuntina G Sacco, Yuchen Qi, Julie Bykowski, Emily Pittman, Ruifeng Chen, Karen Messer, Ezra E W Cohen, Kathryn A Gold> ;Oral Oncology. 2022 Dec 1
Programmed death 1 (PD-1) and ligand (PD-L1) inhibitors in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: A meta-analysis.
Dylan A Levy, Jaimin J Patel, Shaun A Nguyen, W Nicholas Jungbauer, David M Neskey, Ezra E W Cohen, Chrystal M Paulos, John A Kaczmar, Hannah M Knochelmann, Terry A Day> ;World Journal of Otorhinolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery. 2022 Sep 1
37 citations
Lymphatic-preserving treatment sequencing with immune checkpoint inhibition unleashes cDC1-dependent antitumor immunity in HNSCC.
Robert Saddawi-Konefka, Aoife O'Farrell, Farhoud Faraji, Lauren Clubb, Michael M Allevato, Shawn M Jensen, Bryan S Yung, Zhiyong Wang, Victoria H Wu, Nana-Ama Anang, R...> ;Nature Communications. 2022 Jul 25
12 citations
Monomethyl auristatin antibody and peptide drug conjugates for trimodal cancer chemo-radio-immunotherapy.
Dina V Hingorani, Michael M Allevato, Maria F Camargo, Jacqueline Lesperance, Maryam A Quraishi, Joseph Aguilera, Ida Franiak-Pietryga, Daniel J Scanderbeg, Zhiyong Wa...> ;Nature Communications. 2022 Jul 5
13 citations
Xevinapant or placebo plus chemoradiotherapy in locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck: TrilynX phase III study design.
Jean Bourhis, Barbara Burtness, Lisa F Licitra, Christopher Nutting, Jonathan D Schoenfeld, Mokhtar Omar, Florilene Bouisset, Heidi Nauwelaerts, Yulia Urfer, Claudio Z...> ;Future Oncology. 2022 May 1
10 citations
Intralesional SD-101 in Combination with Pembrolizumab in Anti-PD-1 Treatment-Naïve Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Results from a Multicenter, Phase II Trial.
Cohen, E., Nabell, L., Wong, D., Day, T., Daniels, G., Milhem, M., Deva, S., Jameson, M., Guntinas-Lichius, O., Almubarak, M., Strother, M., Whitman, E., Chisamore, M....> ;Clinical Cancer Research. 2022 Mar 15
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Lectures

Phase 1b/2, open label, multicenter study of intratumoral SD-101 in combination with pembrolizumab in anti-PD-1 treatment naÃ¯ve patients with recurrent or metastatic ...
2019 ASCO Annual Meeting - 6/1/2019
Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of pembrolizumab (pembro) vs standard of care (SOC) for recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (R/M HNSCC) i...
2018 ASCO Annual Meeting - Chicago, Illinois - 06/2/2018
ECHO-310: A phase 3, randomized trial of epacadostat + nivolumab + chemo vs EXTREME as first-line treatment of recurrent/metastatic SCCHN.
2018 ASCO Annual Meeting - Chicago, Illinois - 06/2/2018
A phase 3, randomized, open-label study of epacadostat plus pembrolizumab, pembrolizumab monotherapy, and the EXTREME regimen as first-line treatment for recurrent/met...
2018 ASCO Annual Meeting - Chicago, Illinois - 06/2/2018
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Press Mentions

Testing COVID Vaccine? Fighting Cancer? Carlsbad 6-Year-Old Does BothOctober 9th, 2021
Another FGFR Inhibitor Active in Bile Duct CancersApril 13th, 2021
Infinity Pharmaceuticals Presents New MARIO-1 Phase 1/1b Clinical Data at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) 35th Anniversary Annual MeetingNovember 9th, 2020
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