Sausan Abouharb, M.D.
Department of Breast Medical Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine
About Dr. Sausan Abouharb
Dr. Abouharb earned her medical degree from the University of Damascus in Syria. She completed a residency in internal medicine at Indiana University. After her residency, she completed her fellowship in medical oncology and hematology at MD Anderson Cancer Center. During her fellowship training, Dr. Abouharb had special interest in breast medical oncology. She was also awarded Humanitas award. She then joined the faculty at MD Anderson in the department of Breast Medical Oncology. Dr. Abouharb sees breast cancer patients at the Texas Medical Center campus, in addition to general medical oncology and hematology patients at the League City location. Her clinical interest is focused on breast cancer.
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Associate Professor, Breast Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Associate Professor (Joint appointment), General Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Associate Member, IM-Hematology/Oncology, The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX
Dual/Joint/Adjunct Appointment
Associate Professor, Breast Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Associate Professor, General Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Associate Member, IM-Hematology/Oncology, The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2007 | The University of Damascus Syria, Damascus, SY, MD |
Postgraduate Training
| 2011-2014 | Clinical Fellowship, Hematology Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas |
| 2008-2011 | Clinical Residency, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana |
Licenses & Certifications
| 2014 | Texas Medical License |
Experience & Service
Faculty Academic Appointments
Assistant Professor, Breast Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2014 - 2020
Assistant Professor, General Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2014 - 2020
Honors & Awards
| 2014 | Humanitas Award |
| 2013 | Conquer Cancer Foundation Merit Award, ASCO |
| 2013 | The Daniel Benedic Gazan Fellowship In Sarcoma Award |
Professional Memberships
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Hafez, M, Daboul, N, Debel, J, Kouli, A, Al-Bitar, A, Al-Jojo, F, Atassi, B, Abouharb, S, Alhalabi, O, Jazieh, AR, Kalam, F. Delivering oncology care in Syria. Journal of Clinical Oncology 44:1607, 2026. e-Pub 2026.
- Yam C, Patel M, Hill HA, Sun R, Bassett RL Jr, Kong E, Damodaran S, Koenig KB, Abouharb S, Saleem S, Bisen AK, Murthy RK, Ramirez DL, Rauch GM, Adrada BE, Candelaria RP, Wang X, Mittendorf EA, Thompson AM, White JB, Ravenberg EE, Clayborn AR, Ding QQ, Booser DJ, Oke O, Brewster AM, Hortobagyi GN, Ibrahim NK, Litton JK, Valero V, Arun BK, Tripathy D, Chang JT, Chen K, Korkut A, Moulder SL, Huo L, Lim B, Ueno NT. Targeting the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Pathway in Chemotherapy-Resistant Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: A Phase II Study. Cancer Res Commun 4(10):2823-2834, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 39356138.
- Abuhadra N, Sun R, Yam C, Rauch GM, Ding Q, Lim B, Thompson AM, Mittendorf EA, Adrada BE, Damodaran S, Virani K, White J, Ravenberg E, Sun J, Choi J, Candelaria R, Arun B, Ueno NT, Santiago L, Saleem S, Abouharb S, Murthy RK, Ibrahim N, Sahin A, Valero V, Symmans WF, Litton JK, Tripathy D, Moulder S, Huo L. Predictive Roles of Baseline Stromal Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes and Ki-67 in Pathologic Complete Response in an Early-Stage Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Prospective Trial. Cancers (Basel) 15(13), 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37444385.
- Chen H, Ding Q, Khazai L, Zhao L, Damodaran S, Litton JK, Rauch GM, Yam C, Chang JT, Seth S, Lim B, Thompson AM, Mittendorf EA, Adrada B, Virani K, White JB, Ravenberg E, Song X, Candelaria R, Arun B, Ueno NT, Santiago L, Saleem S, Abouharb S, Murthy RK, Ibrahim N, Routbort MJ, Sahin A, Valero V, Symmans WF, Tripathy D, Wang WL, Moulder S, Huo L. PTEN in triple-negative breast carcinoma: protein expression and genomic alteration in pretreatment and posttreatment specimens. Ther Adv Med Oncol 15:17588359231189422, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37547448.
- Abuhadra, NK, Sun, R, Litton, J, Rauch, GM, Yam, C, Chang, JT, Seth, S, Bassett Jr, R, Lim, B, Thompson, A, Mittendorf, EA, Adrada, BE, Damodaran, S, White, JB, Ravenberg, EE, Candelaria, RP, Arun, BK, Ueno, NT, Santiago, L, Saleem, S, Abouharb, S, Murthy, RK, Ibrahim, NK, Sahin, AA, Valero, V, Symmans, WF, Tripathy, D, Moulder, S, Huo, L. Prognostic Impact of High Baseline Stromal Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes in the Absence of Pathologic Complete Response in Early-Stage Triple-Negative Breast Cancer. Cancers 14(5), 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35267631.
- Yam, C, Rauch, GM, Rahman, T, Karuturi, MS, Ravenberg, EE, White, JB, Clayborn, A, McCarthy, P, Abouharb, S, Lim, B, Litton, J, Ramirez, DL, Saleem, S, Stec, J, Symmans, WF, Huo, L, Damodaran, S, Sun, R, Moulder, S. A phase II study of Mirvetuximab Soravtansine in triple-negative breast cancer. Investigational New Drugs 39(2):509-515, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 32984932.
- Bashour SI, Doostan I, Keyomarsi K, Valero V, Ueno NT, Brown PH, Litton JK, Koenig KB, Karuturi M, Abouharb S, Tripathy D, Moulder-Thompson SL, Ibrahim NK. Rapid Breast Cancer Disease Progression Following Cyclin Dependent Kinase 4 and 6 Inhibitor Discontinuation. J Cancer 5(8):11, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28819400.
- Abouharb S, Warneke C, Ravi V, Ludwig JA, Lazar AJ, Patel S, Benjamin RS, Araujo DM. Synovial sarcoma and treatments with gemcitabine and docetaxel. J Clin Oncol 32(5s), 2014. e-Pub 2014.
- Abouharb S, Ensor J, Loghin M E, Katz E, Gonzalez-Angulo A M, Esteva F J, Moulder S, Valero V, Hortobagyi G, Melhem-Bertrandt A. Leptomeningeal disease and breast cancer: Outcome differs by subtype. J Clin Oncol 31, 2013. e-Pub 2013.
Review Articles
- Abouharb S, Moulder S. Metaplastic breast cancer: clinical overview and molecular aberrations for potential targeted therapy. Curr Oncol Rep 17(3):431, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 25691085.
- Abouharb S, Ensor J, Loghin ME, Katz R, Moulder SL, Esteva FJ, Smith B, Valero V, Hortobagyi GN, Melhem-Bertrandt A. Leptomeningeal disease and breast cancer: the importance of tumor subtype. Breast Cancer Res Treat 146(3):477-86, 2014. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 25038877.
Other Articles
- Abouharb S, Corn PG Optimal therapy sequencing in metastatic castration - resistant prostate cancer. Curr Oncol Rep 15(3):217-23, 2013. PMID: 23568599.
- Abouharb S, Litton JK Predictors of contralateral breast cancer in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers. Breast Disease 23(2), 2012.
- Abouharb S, Litton JK Predictors of contralateral breast cancer in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers. Br J Cancer - Breast Diseases Quarterly 104(9):1384-9, 2011.
Abstracts
- Abouharb S, Warneke CL, Ravi V, Ludwig JA, Lazar AF, Patel S, Benjamin RS, Araujo DM. Synovial sarcoma: Evaluation of response to treatment with gemcitabin and docetaxel. ASCO, 2014. e-Pub 2014.
- Abouharb S, Ensor J, Loghin ME, Katz R, Gonzalez-Angulo AM, Esteva FJ, Moulder SL, Valero V, Hortobagyi GN, Melhem-Bertrandt A. Leptomeningeal disease and breast cancer: Relationship of outcome and subtype. ASCO, 2013. e-Pub 2013.
Book Chapters
- Abouharb S, Esteva F. Adjuvant chemotherapy and biological therapies for early stage breast cancer. In: Early Breast Cancer: From Screening to Multidisciplinary Management. 3rd, 2013.
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified August 14, 2026