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Raymond Sawaya, M.D.

Present Title & Affiliation

Primary Appointment

Professor and Chairman, Department of Neurosurgery, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX

Dual/Joint/Adjunct Appointment

Professor and Chairman, Department of Neurosurgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX

Bio Statement

Dr. Raymond Sawaya has been the Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston since the department was established in 1990. He also serves as the Director of the Brain Tumor Center at M. D. Anderson and since 2005 has served as Professor and Chairman, Department of Neurosurgery, at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Sawaya is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Anne C. Brooks & Anthony D. Bullock, III, Distinguished Chair in Neurosurgery. He is the current President of the American Radium Society and the past President of the Houston Neurological Society and past Chairman of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons/Congress of Neurological Surgeons Section on Tumors. Dr. Sawaya is a member of the editorial board of numerous medical journals. He is frequently requested as a national and international lecturer. He has published more than 200 peer-reviewed articles and written and edited more than 10 books. Dr. Sawaya is a noted leader in the field of neurosurgery with particular expertise in primary and metastatic brain tumors, third ventricle, brain stem and pineal region tumors. He is also renowned for his great strides in enhancing the accessibility and safety of brain tumor surgery.

Office Address

The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
1400 Holcombe Blvd
Suite 7.2000
Unit Number: 442
Houston, TX 77030
Room Number: Faculty Center
Phone: (713) 563-8749
Fax: (713) 563-1804
Email: rsawaya@mdanderson.org

Education & Training

Degree-Granting Education

1974 St. Joseph University, Beirut, Lebanon, MD, Lebanon, French State Medical Diploma, Medicine

Postgraduate Training

1/1981-6/1981 Chief Resident in Neurosurgery, Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD, Donlin Long, MD
7/1976-6/1981 Residency in Neurosurgery (PGY 3 - PGY 7), Department of Neurosurgery, Neurosurgery, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, Robert McLaurin, MD
7/1976-6/1977 Residency Pediatric Neurosurgery, Pediatric Neurosurgery, Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH
7/1975-6/1976 Residency in Surgery (PGY 2), Surgery, Upstate Medical Center, Syracuse, NY, Dr. Watts
7/1974-6/1975 Surgical Internship, Surgical Internship (PGY l), Beekman Downtown, New York, NY, Richard Nolan, MD

Board Certifications

1/1985 American Board of Neurological Surgery

Selected Publications

Peer-Reviewed Original Research Articles
1. Williams BJ, Suki D, Fox BD, Pelloski CE, Maldaun MV, Sawaya RE, Lang FF, Rao G. Stereotactic radiosurgery for metastatic brain tumors: a comprehensive review of complications. J Neurosurg 111(3):439-48, 9/2009. PMID: 19301968.
2. Hatiboglu MA, Weinberg JS, Suki D, Rao G, Prabhu SS, Shah K, Jackson E, Sawaya R. Impact of intraoperative high-field magnetic resonance imaging guidance on glioma surgery: a prospective volumetric analysis. Neurosurgery 64(6):1073-1081, 6/2009. PMID: 19487886.
3. Kim SS, McCutcheon IE, Suki D, Weinberg JS, Sawaya R, Lang FF, Ferson D, Heimberger AB, DeMonte F, Prabhu SS. Awake craniotomy for brain tumors near eloquent cortex: correlation of intraoperative cortical mapping with neurological outcomes in 309 consecutive patients. Neurosurgery 64(5):836-845, 5/2009. PMID: 19404147.
4. Oh Y, Taylor S, Bekele BN, Debnam JM, Allen PK, Suki D, Sawaya R, Komaki R, Stewart DJ, Karp DD. Number of metastatic sites is a strong predictor of survival in patients with nonsmall cell lung cancer with or without brain metastases. Cancer, 5/2009. PMID: 19441110.
5. Al-Shamy G, Sawaya R. Management of brain metastases: the indispensable role of surgery. J Neurooncol 92(3). e-Pub 4/2009. PMID: 19357955.
6. Amano T, Nakamizo A, Mishra SK, Gumin J, Shinojima N, Sawaya R, Lang FF. Simultaneous phosphorylation of p53 at serine 15 and 20 induces apoptosis in human glioma cells by increasing expression of pro-apoptotic genes. J Neurooncol 92(3). e-Pub 4/2009. PMID: 19357962.
7. Winer E, Gralow J, Diller L, Karlan B, Loehrer P, Pierce L, Demetri G, Ganz P, Kramer B, Kris M, Markman M, Mayer R, Pfister D, Raghavan D, Ramsey S, Reaman G, Sandler H, Sawaya R, Schuchter L, Sweetenham J, Vahdat L, Schilsky RL. Clinical cancer advances 2008: major research advances in cancer treatment, prevention, and screening--a report from the American Society of Clinical Oncology. J Clin Oncol 27(5):812-826, 2009, 2/2009.
8. Suki D, Hatiboglu MA, Patel AJ, Weinberg JS, Groves MD, Mahajan A, Sawaya R. Comparative risk of leptomeningeal dissemination of cancer after surgery or stereotactic radiosurgery for a single supratentorial solid tumor metastasis. Neurosurgery. e-Pub 2/2009.
9. Hassaneen W, Hatiboglu MA, Chowdhury S, Sawaya R. Asymptomatic cerebellopontine angle and lateral ventricle metastases from renal cell carcinoma: case report and literature review. J Neurooncol 91(1):101-106, 1/2009.
10. Huang FJ, Steeg PS, Price JE, Chiu WT, Chou PC, Xie K, Sawaya R, Huang S. Molecular basis for the critical role of suppressor of cytokine signaling-1 in melanoma brain metastasis. Cancer Res 68((23)):9634-9642, 12/2008.
11. Abou-Ghazal M, Yang DS, Qiao W, Reina-Ortiz C, Wei J, Kong LY, Fuller GN, Hiraoka N, Priebe W, Sawaya R, Heimberger AB. The incidence, correlation with tumor-infiltrating inflammation, and prognosis of phosphorylated STAT3 expression in human gliomas. Clin Cancer Res 14((24)):8228-8235, 12/2008.
12. Zhang Y, Zhang N, Dai B, Liu M, Sawaya R, Xie K, Huang S. FoxM1B transcriptionally regulates vascular endothelial growth factor expression and promotes the angiogenesis and growth of glioma cells. Cancer Research 68(21):8733-8742, 11/2008.
13. Heimberger AB, Sun W, Hussain SF, Dey M, Crutcher L, Aldape K, Gilbert M, Hassenbusch SJ, Sawaya R. Immunological responses in a patient with glioblastoma multiforme treated with sequential courses of temozolomide and immunotherapy: Case study. Neuro-Oncology 10(1):98-103, 10/2008. PMID: 18079360.
14. Nakamizo A, Amano T, Zhang W, Zhang XQ, Ramdas L, Liu TJ, Bekele BN, Shono T, Sasaki T, Benedict WF, Sawaya R, Lang FF. Phosphorylation of Thr18 and Ser20 of p53 in Ad-p53 induced apoptosis. Neuro-oncol 10(3):275-291, 6/2008.
15. Aoki H, Kondo Y, Aldape K, Yamamoto A, Iwado E, Yokoyama T, Hollingsworth EF, Kobayashi R, Hess K, Shinojima N, Shingu T, Tamada Y, Zhang L, Conrad C, Bogler O, Mills, Sawaya R, Kondo S. Monitoring autophagy in glioblastoma with antibody against isoform B of human microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3. Autophagy 4(4):467-75, 4/2008. PMID: 18259115.
16. Bogler O, Sawaya R. Biomarkers and cancer stem cells in primary brain tumors. Curr Probl Cancer 32(3):95-6, 3/2008. PMID: 18501773.
17. Chumblakar V, Sawaya R, Bogler O. Proteomics: the new frontier also for brain tumor research. Curr Probl Cancer 32(3):143-54, 3/2008. PMID: 18501776.
18. Suki D, Abouassi H, Patel AJ, Sawaya R, Weinberg JS, Groves MD. Comparative risk of leptomeningeal disease after resection or stereotactic radiosurgery for solid tumor metastasis to the posterior fossa. J Neurosurg 108:248-257, 2/2008.
19. Xie TX, Aldape KD, Gong W, Kanzawa T, Suki D, Kondo S, Lang F, Ali-Osman F, Sawaya R, Huang S. Aberrant NF-kappaB activity is critical in focal necrosis formation of human glioblastoma by regulation of the expression of tissue factor. Int J Oncol 33(1):5-15, 2008. PMID: 18575745.
20. Yokoyama T, Iwado E, Kondo Y, Aoki H, Hayashi Y, Georgescu MM, Sawaya R, Hess KR, Mills GB, Kawamura H, Hashimoto Y, Urata Y, Fujiwara T, Kondo S. Autophagy-inducing agents augment the antitumor effect of telerase-selve oncolytic adenovirus OBP-405 on glioblastoma cells. Gene Ther 15(17):1233-9, 2008. PMID: 18580968.
21. Maldaun MV, Aguiar PH, Lang F, Suki D, Wildrick D, Sawaya R. Radiosurgery in the treatment of brain metastases: critical review regarding complications. Neurosurg Rev 31(1):1-8; discussion 8-9, 2008. PMID: 17957397.

Last updated: 9/3/2009