Leukemia

Hagop Kantarjian, M.D. is professor and chair of the Department of Leukemia at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, where he is also the Samsung Distinguished Leukemia Chair in Cancer Medicine. He is also a non-resident fellow in health policy at the Rice University Baker Institute. Doctor Kantarjian has received several prestigious honours and awards including the 37th Jeffrey A Gottlieb Memorial Award (2012), the John Mendelsohn Lifetime Scientific Achievement Award (2008), the Joseph H. Burchenal Memorial Award (2013),the Charles A. LeMaistre, M.D. Outstanding Achievement Award in Cancer (2014), and America’s Top Doctors, Castle Connolly Medical (2003-present). He was also selected the top Castle Connolly National Physician of the Year Award for Lifetime Achievement (2014). Doctor Kantarjian’s research focuses on translational-clinical developmental therapeutics in leukemia. In the past three decades, he has made several contributions that improved prognosis and survival in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (tyrosine kinase inhibitors, e.g. imatinib, dasatinib, nilotinib, bosutinib which improved the 10-year survival from 20% to 90%), in acute lymphocytic leukemia (HPER-CVAD regimen and its derivatives which improved cure rates from 20% to 60+%), the discovery of decitabine for the treatment of myelodysplastic syndrome, and of clofarabine for the treatment of leukemias, among others. His research and collaborations were the basis for the FDA approvals of over 20 drugs in leukemia. He is an author on over 1,800 peer-reviewed publications.