Review paper on K-Ras targeted therapy in GI cancer

Dr. Shubham Pant is a Professor in the Department of Gastrointestinal (GI) Medical Oncology with a joint appointment in the Department of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics (Phase I Center) at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Pant is recognised as an international expert in GI cancers with an emphasis on pancreatic and biliary cancers and Phase 1 trials.

Dr. Pant's research focuses on novel immunotherapeutic approaches and targeted therapies in GI cancers, including devising novel ways to target the KRAS mutation. He has been the lead/co-lead of several global practice-changing studies, including 'Zanidatamab for HER2-amplified, unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic biliary tract cancer (HERIZON-BTC-01): a multicenter, single-arm, phase 2b study'; 'Adagrasib in advanced solid tumors harboring a KRASG12C mutation' and 'Erdafitinib in patients with advanced solid tumors with FGFR alterations (RAGNAR): an international, single-arm, phase 2 study'; amongst others. He has over 100 peer-reviewed publications and has published in high-impact journals, including The Lancet, Lancet Oncology, and Journal of Clinical Oncology. He is frequently invited to present his research at national and international meetings. He collaborates on numerous grants, including R01 and SPORE grants funded by the National Institute of Health. Dr. Pant serves on the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Pancreas Task Force and the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network's (PanCan) Scientific and Medical Advisory Board. He also helped draft the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer Guidelines, which provide evidence-based recommendations for physicians. He is also the editor of the book Pancreatic Cancer: Current Therapeutics and Future Directions (Publisher: Springer).

Dr Joleen Hubbard is Deputy Director of Clinical Research and Academic Affairs for the Allina Health Cancer Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  She was previously Assistant Professor of Medical Oncology at Mayo Clinic. She completed medical school and residency at the University of Minnesota and haematology/oncology training at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Dr Hubbard specialises in the treatment of gastrointestinal cancers, focusing on colorectal cancer. Dr Hubbard is the PI of several phase I clinical trials, investigating novel agents for gastrointestinal cancers. Her research interests also include geriatric oncology with a special interest in clinical and biologic markers of frailty. She serves as a member of the Cancer in the Elderly, as well as the Health Reported Outcomes and Translational Research committees for the North American Alliance of Clinical Trials in Oncology Network. 

Tanios Bekaii-Saab, MD is a Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. He is the Chair for Hematology and Medical Oncology for the Division of Hematology/Oncology at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. He is the leader of the Gastrointestinal Cancer for the Enterprise-wide Mayo Clinic Cancer Center Dr. Bekaii-Saab is currently the co-leader of the Hepatobiliary Cancer Sub-Committee of the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology and the Co-Chair for the National Cancer Institute’s Hepatobiliary Task Force.

Dr. Bekaii-Saab earned his medical degree from the American University of Beirut in Lebanon and completed a residency in internal medicine at Indiana University Medical Center in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. He then completed fellowships in clinical pharmacology and experimental therapeutics and hematology/oncology at Tufts University/New England Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Dr. Bekaii-Saab served as a reviewer for many high impact journals and sits on the editorial board of the prestigious Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Dr. Bekaii-Saab has authored or co-authored more than 500 peer reviewed publications, abstracts, and book chapters, including papers in such journals as New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, Lancet Oncology, Journal of Clinical Oncology, JAMA, Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Annals of Oncology, and Clinical Cancer Research.