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Barbara Pro, MD

Present Title & Affiliation

N/A

Bio Statement

I am a clinical-translational investigator with dedicated effort to patients care and design and conduction of clinical trials, mostly investigator-initiated. My areas of research investigation are essentially summarized as follows: a) Definition of the biological features and development of novel management strategies for T-cell lymphomas; b) Development of novel biological-targeted therapies for Non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas; c) Development of international collaborative efforts to define biology and treatment strategies for extranodal lymphomas (International Extranodal Lymphoma Consortium).

Education & Training

Degree-Granting Education

1988 University “La Sapienza, Rome, Italy, MD, Cum Laude, Medicine

Postgraduate Training

1997-1999 Fellow of Medical Oncology, Medical Oncology, U.T. M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, Richard Pazdur, MD
1996-1997 Chief Resident in Internal Medicine, The Mount Sinai School of Medicine (Cabrini) Program, New York, NY, W. Talavera
1995-1996 Resident (PGY-2) in Internal Medicine, The Mount Sinai School of Medicine (Cabrini) Program, New York, NY, W. Talavera
1994-1995 Internship in Internal Medicine, The Mount Sinai School of Medicine (Cabrini) Program, New York, NY, W. Talavera, MD
1988-1992 Fellowship in Medical Oncology, University La Sapienza, Rome, Italy, E. Cortesi, MD

Board Certifications

1999 ABIM Certification in Medical Oncology
1997 ABIM Certification in Internal Medicine
1992 Italian Certification in Medical Oncology

Experience/Service

Academic Appointments

Associate Professor, Department of Lymphoma/Myeloma, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2006-present

Honors and Awards

2006 American's Top Physician Award
1995 "Italian Association Against Cancer (Lega Italiana Lotta contro I Tumori) – National Grant for the research ""Adjuvant treatment of breast cancer, new concepts of dose intensity and schedule in perioperative-early post-operative”.", Italian Association Against Cancer

Selected Publications

Peer-Reviewed Original Research Articles
1. Esmaeli B, McLaughlin P, Pro B, Samaniego F, Gayed I, Hagemeister F, Romaguera J, Cabanillas F, Neelapu S, Banay R, Fayad L, Saville MW, Kwak L. Prospective trial of targeted radioimmunotherapy with Y-90 ibritumomab tiuxetan (Zevalin) for front-line treatment of early-stage extranodal indolent ocular adnexal lymphoma. Annals of Oncology. In Press.
2. Tam CS, Bassett R, Ledesma C, Korbling M, Alousi A, Hosing C, Kebraei P, Harrell R, Rondon G, Giralt SA, Anderlini P, Popat U, Pro B, Samuels B, Hagemeister F, Medeiros LJ, Champlin RE, Khouri IF. Mature results of the MD Anderson Cancer Center risk-adapted transplantation strategy in mantle cell lymphoma. Blood 113(18):4144-4152, 4/2009. PMID: 19168784.
3. Esmaeli B, McLaughlin P, Pro B, Samaniego F, Gayed I, Hagemeister F, Romaguera J, Cabanillas F, Neelapu SS, Banay R, Fayad L, Wayne Saville M, Kwak LW. Prospective trial of targeted radioimmunotherapy with Y-90 ibritumomab tiuxetan (Zevalin) for front-line treatment of early-stage extranodal indolent ocular adnexal lymphoma. Ann Oncol 20(4):709-14, 4/2009. PMID: 19150940.
4. Falchook GS, Vega F, Dang NH, Samaniego F, Rodriguez MA, Champlin RE, Hosing C, Verstovsek S, Pro B. Hepatosplenic gamma-delta T-cell lymphoma: clinicopathological features and treatment. Ann Oncol 20(6):1080-1085, 2/2009. PMID: 19237479.
5. Pro B, Leber B, Smith M, Fayad L, Romaguera J, Hagemeister F, Rodriguez A, McLaughlin P, Samaniego F, Zwiebel J, Lopez A, Kwak L, Younes A. Phase II multicenter study of oblimersen sodium, a Bcl-2 antisense oligonucleotide, in combination with rituximab in patients with recurrent B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Br J Haematol 143(3):355-360, 11/2008. PMID: 18764869.
6. Leitenberger JJ, Berthelot CN, Polder KD, Pro B, McLaughlin P, Jones D, Duvic M. CD4+ CD56+ hematodermic/plasmacytoid dendritic cell tumor with response to pralatrexate. J Am Acad Dermatol 58(3):480-4, 3/2008. PMID: 18280345.
7. Oki Y, Pro B, Fayad LE, Romaguera J, Samaniego F, Hagemeister F, Neelapu S, McLaughlin P, Goy A, Younes A. Phase 2 study of gemcitabine in combination with rituximab in patients with recurrent or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma. Cancer 112(4):831-6, 2/2008. PMID: 18085611.
8. Anderlini P, Saliba R, Acholonu S, Giralt SA, Andersson B, Ueno NT, Hosing C, Khouri IF, Couriel D, de Lima M, Qazilbash MH, Pro B, Romaguera J, Fayad L, Hagemeister F, Younes A, Munsell MF, Champlin RE. Fludarabine-melphalan as a preparative regimen for reduced-intensity conditioning allogeneic stem cell transplantation in relapsed and refractory Hodgkin's lymphoma: the updated M.D. Anderson Cancer Center experience. Haematologica 93(2):257-64, 1/2008. PMID: 18223284.
9. Overman MJ, Feng L, Pro B, McLaughlin P, Hess M, Samaniego F, Younes A, Romaguera JE, Hagemeister FB, Kwak L, Cabanillas F, Rodriguez MA, Fayad LE. The addition of rituximab to CHOP chemotherapy improves overall and failure-free survival for follicular grade 3 lymphoma. Ann Oncol 19(3):553-9, Jul-Aug, 1/2008. PMID: 18083690.
10. Pro B, McLaughlin P. Angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma: still a dismal prognosis with current treatment approaches. Leuk Lymphoma 48(4):645-6, 2007. PMID: 17454617.
11. Oki Y, McLaughlin P, Fayad LE, Pro B, Mansfield PF, Clayman GL, Medeiros LJ, Kwak LW, Srivastava PK, Younes A. Experience with heat shock protein-peptide complex 96 vaccine therapy in patients with indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Cancer 109(1):77-83, 2007. PMID: 17133412.
12. Soriano AO, Thompson MA, Admirand JH, Fayad LE, Rodriguez AM, Romaguera JE, Hagemeister FB, Pro B. Follicular dendritic cell sarcoma: a report of 14 cases and a review of the literature. Am J Hematol 82(8):725-8, 2007. PMID: 17373675.
13. Husain A, Roberts D, Pro B, McLaughlin P, Esmaeli B. Meta-analyses of the association between Chlamydia psittaci and ocular adnexal lymphoma and the response of ocular adnexal lymphoma to antibiotics. Cancer 110(4):809-15, 2007. PMID: 17594698.
14. Dang NH, Pro B, Hagemeister FB, Samaniego F, Jones D, Samuels BI, Rodriguez MA, Goy A, Romaguera JE, McLaughlin P, Tong AT, Turturro F, Walker PL, Fayad L. Phase II trial of denileukin diftitox for relapsed/refractory T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Br J Haematol 136(3):439-47, 2007. PMID: 17233846.
15. Dang NH, Fayad L, McLaughlin P, Romaguara JE, Hagemeister F, Goy A, Neelapu S, Samaniego F, Walker PL, Wang M, Rodriguez MA, Tong AT, Pro B. Phase II trial of the combination of denileukin diftitox and rituximab for relapsed/refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Br J Haematol 138(4):502-5, Jul-Aug, 2007. PMID: 17608763.
16. Jabbour E, Hosing C, Ayers G, Nunez R, Anderlini P, Pro B, Khouri I, Younes A, Hagemeister F, Kwak L, Fayad L. Pretransplant positive positron emission tomography/gallium scans predict poor outcome in patients with recurrent/refractory Hodgkin lymphoma. Cancer 109(12):2481-9, 2007. PMID: 17497648.
17. Hatef E, Roberts D, McLaughlin P, Pro B, Esmaeli B. Prevalence and nature of systemic involvement and stage at initial examination in patients with orbital and ocular adnexal lymphoma. Arch Ophthalmol 125(12):1663-7, 2007. PMID: 18071119.
18. Gayed I, Eskandari MF, McLaughlin P, Pro B, Diba R, Esmaeli B. Value of positron emission tomography in staging ocular adnexal lymphomas and evaluating their response to therapy. Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging 38(4):319-25, 2007. PMID: 17674923.
19. Safdar A, Rodriguez MA, Fayad LE, Rodriguez GH, Pro B, Wang M, Romaguera JE, Goy AH, Hagemeister FB, McLaughlin P, Bodey GP, Kwak LW, Raad,, II, Couch RB. Dose-related safety and immunogenicity of baculovirus-expressed trivalent influenza vaccine: a double-blind, controlled trial in adult patients with non-Hodgkin B cell lymphoma. J Infect Dis 194(10):1394-7, 2006. PMID: 17054068.
20. Younes A, Pro B, Fayad L. Experience with bortezomib for the treatment of patients with relapsed classical Hodgkin lymphoma. Blood 107(4):1731-2, 2006. PMID: 16461762.
21. Liu Q, Fayad L, Cabanillas F, Hagemeister FB, Ayers GD, Hess M, Romaguera J, Rodriguez MA, Tsimberidou AM, Verstovsek S, Younes A, Pro B, Lee MS, Ayala A, McLaughlin P. Improvement of overall and failure-free survival in stage IV follicular lymphoma: 25 years of treatment experience at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. J Clin Oncol 24(10):1582-9, 2006. PMID: 16575009.
22. Pro B, Fayad L, McLaughlin P, Romaguera J, Hagemeister FB, Rodriguez MA, Goy A, Loyer E, Younes A. Pegfilgrastim administered in a single fixed dose is effective in inducing neutrophil count recovery after paclitaxel and topotecan chemotherapy in patients with relapsed aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Leuk Lymphoma 47(3):481-5, 2006. PMID: 16396772.
23. Pro B, Hagemeister FB, McLaughlin P, Romaguera J, Rodriguez MA, Cabanillas F, Tiongson LP, Younes A. Phase 2 study of fludarabine and paclitaxel in patients with recurrent low-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Leuk Lymphoma 47(9):1818-21, 2006. PMID: 17064994.
24. Younes A, Fayad L, Romaguera J, Pro B, Goy A, Wang M. Safety and efficacy of once-per-cycle pegfilgrastim in support of ABVD chemotherapy in patients with Hodgkin lymphoma. Eur J Cancer 42(17):2976-81, 2006. PMID: 17008093.
25. Khouri IF, Saliba RM, Hosing C, Okoroji GJ, Acholonu S, Anderlini P, Couriel D, De Lima M, Donato ML, Fayad L, Giralt S, Jones R, Korbling M, Maadani F, Manning JT, Pro B, Shpall E, Younes A, McLaughlin P, Champlin RE. Concurrent administration of high-dose rituximab before and after autologous stem-cell transplantation for relapsed aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. J Clin Oncol 23(10):2240-2247, 2005. PMID: 15800314.
26. Romaguera JE, Fayad L, Rodriguez MA, Broglio KR, Hagemeister FB, Pro B, McLaughlin P, Younes A, Samaniego F, Goy A, Sarris AH, Dang NH, Wang M, Beasley V, Medeiros LJ, Katz RL, Gagneja H, Samuels BI, Smith TL, Cabanillas FF. High rate of durable remissions after treatment of newly diagnosed aggressive mantle-cell lymphoma with rituximab plus hyper-CVAD alternating with rituximab plus high-dose methotrexate and cytarabine. J Clin Oncol 23(28):7013-23, 2005. PMID: 16145068.
27. Oki Y, McLaughlin P, Pro B, Hagemeister FB, Bleyer A, Loyer E, Younes A. Phase II study of oxaliplatin in patients with recurrent or refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Cancer 104(4):781-787, 2005. PMID: 15973667.
28. Goy A, Younes A, McLaughlin P, Pro B, Romaguera JE, Hagemeister F, Fayad L, Dang NH, Samaniego F, Wang M, Broglio K, Samuels B, Gilles F, Sarris AH, Hart S, Trehu E, Schenkein D, Cabanillas F, Rodriguez AM. Phase II study of proteasome inhibitor bortezomib in relapsed or refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. J Clin Oncol 23(4):667-675, 2005. PMID: 15613697.
29. Anderlini P, Saliba R, Acholonu S, Okoroji GJ, Donato M, Giralt S, Andersson B, Ueno NT, Khouri I, De Lima M, Hosing C, Cohen A, Ippoliti C, Romaguera J, Rodriguez MA, Pro B, Fayad L, Goy A, Younes A, Champlin RE. Reduced-intensity allogeneic stem cell transplantation in relapsed and refractory Hodgkin's disease: low transplant-related mortality and impact of intensity of conditioning regimen. Bone Marrow Transplant 35(10):943-951, 2005. PMID: 15806128.
30. Wedgwood A, Pro B, Younes A. The lymphomas: molecular pathways and novel therapeutic targets. Curr Hematol Rep 4(4):324-334, 2005. PMID: 16009048.
31. Pro B, Dang NH. CD26/dipeptidyl peptidase IV and its role in cancer. Histol Histopathol 19(4):1345-1351, 2004. PMID: 15375776.
32. Escalon MP, Champlin RE, Saliba RM, Acholonu SA, Hosing C, Fayad L, Giralt S, Ueno NT, Maadani F, Pro B, Donato M, McLaughlin P, Khouri IF. Nonmyeloablative allogeneic hematopoietic transplantation: a promising salvage therapy for patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma whose disease has failed a prior autologous transplantation. J Clin Oncol 22(12):2419-2423, 2004. PMID: 15197204.
33. Younes A, Pro B, Robertson MJ, Flinn IW, Romaguera JE, Hagemeister F, Dang NH, Fiumara P, Loyer EM, Cabanillas FF, McLaughlin PW, Rodriguez MA, Samaniego F. Phase II clinical trial of interleukin-12 in patients with relapsed and refractory non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and Hodgkin's disease. Clin Cancer Res 10(16):5432-5438, 2004. PMID: 15328181.
34. Dang NH, Hagemeister FB, Pro B, McLaughlin P, Romaguera JE, Jones D, Samuels B, Samaniego F, Younes A, Wang M, Goy A, Rodriguez MA, Walker PL, Arredondo Y, Tong AT, Fayad L. Phase II study of denileukin diftitox for relapsed/refractory B-Cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. J Clin Oncol 22(20):4095-4102, 2004. PMID: 15353540.
35. Pro B, Younes A, Albitar M, Dang NH, Samaniego F, Romaguera J, McLaughlin P, Hagemeister FB, Rodriguez MA, Clemons M, Cabanillas F. Thalidomide for patients with recurrent lymphoma. Cancer 100(6):1186-1189, 2004. PMID: 15022285.
36. Romaguera JE, Medeiros LJ, Hagemeister FB, Fayad LE, Rodriguez MA, Pro B, Younes A, McLaughlin P, Goy A, Sarris AH, Dang NH, Samaniego F, Brown HM, Gagneja HK, Cabanillas F. Frequency of gastrointestinal involvement and its clinical significance in mantle cell lymphoma. Cancer 97(3):586-591, 2003. PMID: 12548600.
37. Dabaja BS, Ha CS, Wilder RB, Pro B, McLaughlin P, Cabanillas F, Cox JD. Importance of esophagogastroduodenoscopy in the evaluation of non-gastrointestinal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma. Cancer J 9(4):321-324, 2003. PMID: 12967143.
38. Seymour JF, Pro B, Fuller LM, Manning JT, Hagemeister FB, Romaguera J, Rodriguez MA, Ha CS, Smith TL, Ayala A, Hess M, Cox JD, Cabanillas F, McLaughlin P. Long-term follow-up of a prospective study of combined modality therapy for stage I-II indolent non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. J Clin Oncol 21(11):2115-2122, 2003. PMID: 12775737.
39. Khouri IF, Lee MS, Saliba RM, Jun G, Fayad L, Younes A, Pro B, Acholonu S, McLaughlin P, Katz RL, Champlin RE. Nonablative allogeneic stem-cell transplantation for advanced/recurrent mantle-cell lymphoma. J Clin Oncol 21(23):4407-4412, 2003. PMID: 14645431.
40. Dang NH, Hagemeister FB, Duvic M, Romaguera JE, Younes A, Jones D, Samuels B, Fayad LE, Pro B, Samaniego F, Sarris A, Goy A, McLaughlin P, Tong AT, Walker PL, Tiongson LP, Smith TL, Huh YO, Morimoto C, Rodriguez MA. Pentostatin in T-non-Hodgkin's lymphomas: efficacy and effect on CD26+ T lymphocytes. Oncol Rep 10(5):1513-1518, 2003. PMID: 12883733.
41. Dabaja BS, McLaughlin P, Ha CS, Pro B, Meyers CA, Seabrooke LF, Wilder RB, Kyritsis AP, Preti HA, Yung WK, Levin V, Cabanillas F, Cox JD. Primary central nervous system lymphoma: Phase I evaluation of infusional bromodeoxyuridine with whole brain accelerated fractionation radiation therapy after chemotherapy. Cancer 98(5):1021-1028, 2003. PMID: 12942571.
42. Goy A, Hart S, Pro B, McLaughlin P, Younes A, Dang N, Fayad L, Romaguera J, Cabanillas F, Hagemeister F, Samaniego F, Wang M, Mesina O, Gilles F, Trehu E, Shenkein D. Report of a Phase II Study of Proteasome Inhibitor Bortezomib (VELCADE) in Patients with Relapsed or Refractory Indolent or Aggressive Lymphomas. Blood 102(11), 2003.
43. Lee HK, Wilder RB, Jones D, Ha CS, Pro B, Rodriguez MA, Romaguera JE, Cabanillas F, Rodriguez J, Cox JD. Outcomes using doxorubicin-based chemotherapy with or without radiotherapy for early-stage peripheral T-cell lymphomas. Leuk Lymphoma 43(9):1769-1775, 2002. PMID: 12685830.

Invited Articles
1. Pro B, McLaughlin P. Angioimmunoblastic T-Cell Lymphoma: Still a dismal prognosis with current treatment approaches. Leuk Lymphoma 48(4):645-646, 2008.

Book Chapters
1. Pro, B. Primary Brain Tumors. In: CNS Lymphoma Atlas of Cancer, July. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins: New York, 579-585, 2003.

Last updated: 9/8/2009