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      Maria Alejandra Zarzour Image

      Maria Alejandra Zarzour, M.D.

      Department of Sarcoma Medical Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine

      In the News

      Illustration of liposarcoma. Colors used are pink and purple.

      Understanding liposarcoma: Types, symptoms, prognosis and treatment

      Woman touches the back of her upper leg

      What are the symptoms of liposarcoma?

      Present Title & Affiliation

      Primary Appointment

      Associate Professor, Sarcoma Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX

      Dual/Joint/Adjunct Appointment

      Associate Professor, Sarcoma Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX

      Research Interests

      I serve as a Master Clinician within my department and my focus is on patient care and expertise in treating patients with sarcoma. I am not the lead on any active research projects within my division. I do not have any ongoing research projects at this time. I am a collaborator on all open protocols within my department. When my schedule allows, I do look forward to investing time in a project that will impact the care of sarcomas. I have training in Clinical Safety and Effectiveness and hope to one day incorporate this into a meaningful project for patient care.

      Education & Training

      Degree-Granting Education

      2006University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, US, MD
      2000Rice University, Houston, Texas, US, Biology, BS

      Postgraduate Training

      2010-2013Clinical Fellowship, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
      2009-2010Chief Resident, Internal Medicine, University of Texas Medical School, Houston, Texas
      2006-2009Clinical Residency, Internal Medicine, University of Texas Medical School, Houston, Texas

      Licenses & Certifications

      2021Florida Board of Medicine
      2021Texas Medical Board
      2013Medical Oncology
      2010Internal Medicine

      Honors & Awards

      2022Top 10% Nationally Recognized Provider
      2010Herbert L. Fred Award
      2007Outstanding Intern of the Year Award, Department of Internal Medicine, UT Medical School at Houston

      Professional Memberships

      Connective Tissue Oncology Society

      2017 - Present

      American Society of Clinical Oncology

      2012 - Present

      American Society of Hematology

      2012 - Present

      Selected Presentations & Talks

      Local Presentations

      1. 2020. ASCO Highlights. Conference. MD Anderson. Houston, TX, US.

      International Presentations

      1. 2023. Clinical implications of recurring mutations in myxoid liposarcoma (MLS). Conference. 2023 ASCO Annual Meeting. Chicago, US.
      2. 2022. Outcomes in late-line systemic treatment in GISTs: Does sequence matter?. Conference. 2022 ASCO Annual Meeting. Chicago, US.
      3. 2022. Clinical characteristics and outcomes of adult alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma (ARMS) patients on front-line therapies: An MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) case series. Conference. 2022 ASCO Annual Meeting. Chicago, US.
      4. 2022. A phase II multi-arm study to test the efficacy of oleclumab and durvalumab in specific sarcoma subtypes. Conference. 2022 ASCO Annual Meeting. Chicago, US.
      5. 2020. Modulation of YAP/ TAZ by statins to improve survival in epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE). Conference. 2020 ASCO Virtual Scientific Program. Chicago, US.
      6. 2020. A phase II multi-arm study of durvalumab and tremelimumab for advanced or metastatic sarcomas. Conference. 2020 ASCO Virtual Scientific Program. Chicago, US.
      7. 2018. Systemic therapy regimen outcomes in metastatic phyllodes tumors of the breast. Conference. 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting. Chicago, US.
      8. 2016. Clinical characteristics of adult alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma (ARMS) patients (Pts) on front-line therapies: An MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) series. Conference. 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting. Chicago, US.
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      Selected Publications

      Professional Educational Materials

      1. Flores, MA. Letters to a Third-Year Student, 2005.

      Abstracts

      1. Nakazawa MS, Yalamanchili S, Bishop AJ, Conley AP, A Zarzour MA, Araujo DM, Nassif Haddad EF, Ratan R, Benjamin RS, Patel S, Somaiah N, Gorlick R, Daw NC, Goepfert R, Wang W, Guadagnolo B, Livingston. OUTCOMES OF MULTIMODAL PERIOPERATIVE TREATMENT IN OSTEOSARCOMAS OF THE JAW. CTOS, 2025. e-Pub 2025.
      2. Torrado C, Nassif Haddad EF, Nakazawa MS, Araujo DM, Bird JE, Dumbrava EE, Rodon J, Fu S, Hong DS, Lewis VO, Livingston A, Meric-Bernstam F, Patel S, Piha-Paul SA, Ratan R, Ravi V, Somaiah N, Tsimberidou AM, Naing A, Ludwig J, Zarzour MA, Yap TA, Conley AP. NOVEL THERAPEUTICS AND SURROGATE ENDPOINTS IN CHONDROSARCOMA: A RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS FROM A PHASE 1 UNIT. CTOS, 2025. e-Pub 2025.
      3. Wannaphut C, Thirasastr P, Nakazawa MS, Araujo DM, Benjamin RS, Conley AP, Livingston A, Ludwig JA, Patel S, Ratan R, Ravi V, A Zarzour MA, Nassif Haddad EF, Somaiah N. TREATMENT OUTCOMES OF GEMCITABINE AND DOCETAXEL IN PATIENTS WITH CLEAR CELL SARCOMA (CCS) OR GASTROINTESTINAL NEUROECTODERMAL TUMOR (GNET): A CASE SERIES. CTOS, 2025. e-Pub 2025.
      4. Soewito, S, Lin, HY, Zoghbi, M, Pan, C, Young, P, Araujo, DM, Conley, AP, Livingston, JA, Ludwig, JA, Nakazawa, MS, Ratan, R, Ravi, V, Somaiah, N, Zarzour, MA, Patel, S, Meyer, LA, Soliman, PT, Lyu, H, Nassif, EF, Denu, RA. Doxorubicin-based chemotherapy vs gemcitabine/docetaxel in uterine leiomyosarcoma (ULMS) 43, 2025. e-Pub 2025.
      5. Raj R, Vilson R, Joseph C, Lin H, Munnangi P, Thirasastr P, Nakazawa M, Torres K, Araujo D, Benjamin RS, Conley AP, Livingston JA, Ludwig J, Patel S, Ratan R, Ravi V, Zarzour M, Nassif E, Somaiah N. NF1 and non-NF1 associated Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumors (MPNST): the UT MD Anderson (MDACC) experience, 2025. e-Pub 2025.
      6. Munnangi P, King BL, Chiang Y, Araujo D, Conley AP, Livingston JA, Ludwig J, Nakazawa MS, Nassif Haddad EF, Patel S, Ratan R, Ravi V, Zarzour MA, Torres K, Somaiah N. Real World Outcomes with systemic therapy in NF-1 associated Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumors (MPNST), 2025. e-Pub 2025.
      7. Soewito, S, Lin, HY, Zoghbi, M, Pan, C, Young, P, Araujo, DM, Conley, AP, Livingston, JA, Ludwig, JA, Nakazawa, MS, Ratan, R, Ravi, V, Somaiah, N, Zarzour, MA, Patel, S, Meyer, LA, Soliman, PT, Lyu, H, Nassif, EF, Denu, RA. Doxorubicin-based chemotherapy vs gemcitabine/docetaxel in uterine leiomyosarcoma (ULMS), 2025. e-Pub 2025.
      8. Denu RA, MD, PhD, Joseph CP, Urquiola ES, Byrd PS, Ratan R, MD, MEd, Zarzour MA, MD, Conley AP, MD, Araujo D, MD, Ravi V, MD, MS, MBA, Patel S, MD, Wang W, MD, Lazar AJ, MD, PhD, Somaiah N, MD. Clinico-Genomic Analysis of KIT/PDGFRA/SDH Wild-Type Gatrointestinal Stromal Tumors Identifies Potential Driver Mutations, 2023. e-Pub 2023.
      9. Gingrich A, Beird H, Chu R, Traweek R, Cope B, Keung EZ, Scally CP, Hunt KK, Torres KE, Roland CL, Initiative Team SPT, Team PM, Futreal P, Bishop A, Guadagnolo B, Mitra D, Farooqi A, Araujo D, Alejandra Zarzour AM, Livingston J, Conley A, Patel S, Ravi V, Somaiah N, Lazar AJ, Ratan R, Nassif EF. Leiomyosarcoma intratumoral macrophage infiltrates are associated with distinct clinical and genomic presentations, 2023. e-Pub 2023.
      10. Livingston J, Cloutier J, Conley AP, Gorlick R, Benjamin RS, Posey K, Nassif E, Zarzour M, Araujo D, Ratan R, Ravi V, Somaiah N, Lin H, Leung CH, Lazar AJ, Lewis VO, Lin P, Amini B, Valenzuela RF, Patel S, Wang W. Chemotherapy and Prognostic Significance of Extent of Dedifferentiation in Dedifferentiated Parosteal Osteosarcoma, 2023. e-Pub 2023.
      11. Denu RA, Yang RK, Lazar AJ, Patel SS, Lewis V, Roszik J, Livingston J, Wang W, Shaw KR, Ratan R, Zarzour M, Byrd J, Raza SM, Akdemir KC, Ahnert JR, Subbiah V, Patel S, Conley A. Clinico-Genomic Profiling of Convetional and Dedifferentiated Chondrosarcomas Reveals TP53 Mutation to be Associated With Worse Outcomes, 2023. e-Pub 2023.
      12. Torres MB, Leung CH, Keung E, Feng C, Beird H, Zarzour A, Scally C, Hunt K, Conley A, Bishop A, Guadagnolo B, Farooqi A, Mitra D, Araujo D, Livingston A, Ratan R, Patel S, Ravi V, Lazar A, Roland CL, Somaiah N, Nassif EF. Dedifferentiated Liposarcomas Treated With Immune Checkpoint Blockade: The MD Anderson Experience, 2023. e-Pub 2023.
      13. Van Tine B, Abbate C, Shepard R, Wasyl E, Waymack JP, Priebe W, Zarzour A, Chawla S, Weiss S, Liebner D. A Phase 1B/2 Study of Liposomal Annamycin (ANN) in Subjects With Previously Treated Soft-Tissue Sarcomas (STS) With Pulmonary Metastases, 2023. e-Pub 2023.
      14. Nassif EF, Beird H, Mitra A, Liu B, McBride K, Wang W, Ingram D, Wani K, Keung EZ, Initiative Team RT, Team PM, Zarzour A, Conley A, Araujo D, Livingston J, Ratan R, Patel S, Ravi V, Benjamin R, Lazar AJ, Roland CL, Futreal P, Somaiah N. Histology Specific Intratumoral B-Cell Biology in Alveolar Soft-Part Sarcomas (ASPS) in Response to Durvalumab-Tremelimumab (D-T), 2023. e-Pub 2023.
      15. Thirasastr P, Lin HY, Nassif EF, Wang W, Araujo DM, Benjamin RS, Conley AP, Livingston J, Ludwig JA, Patel S, Ratan R, Ravi V, Zarzour MA, Zhou X, Somaiah N. Clinical implications of recurring mutations in myxoid liposarcoma (MLS), 2023. e-Pub 2023.
      16. Thirasastr P, Joseph C, Araujo DM, Benjamin RS, Conley AP, Livingston J, Ludwig JA, Patel S, Ratan R, Ravi V, Zarzour MA, Zhou X, Somaiah N. Outcomes in late-line systemic treatment in GISTs: Does sequence matter?, 2022. e-Pub 2022.
      17. Somaiah N, Livingston J, Ravi V, Lin HY, Amini B, Solis LM, Conley AP, Zarzour MA, Ludwig JA, Ratan R, Wang W, Araujo DM, Patel S, Roland CL, Lazar AJ, Gorlick RG, Parra ER, Haymaker CL. A phase II multi-arm study to test the efficacy of oleclumab and durvalumab in specific sarcoma subtypes, 2022. e-Pub 2022.
      18. Nakazawa M, Livingston J, Bishop AJ, Zarzour MA, Somaiah N, Ratan R, Gill JB, Urquiola E, Posey K, Guadagnolo BA, Gorlick RG, Benjamin RS, Patel S, Conley AP. Clinical characteristics and outcomes of adult alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma (ARMS) patients on front-line therapies: An MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) case series, 2022. e-Pub 2022.
      19. Somaiah N, Conley AP, Lin HY, Amini B, Sabir SH, Araujo DM, Benjamin RS, Livingston J, Patel S, Ratan R, Ravi V, Zarzour MA, Wang W, Tate T, Roland CL, Daw NC, Futreal A, Lazar AJ, Wistuba II, Hwu P. A phase II multi-arm study of durvalumab and tremelimumab for advanced or metastatic sarcomas, 2020. e-Pub 2020.
      20. Subramaniam A, Zheng J, Yalamanchili S, Conley AP, Ratan R, Somaiah N, Livingston J, Zarzour MA, Araujo DM, Benjamin RS, Patel S, Ravi V. Modulation of YAP/ TAZ by statins to improve survival in epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE), 2020. e-Pub 2020.
      21. Parkes AM, Patel S, Leung CH, Lin HY, Conley AP, Somaiah N, Araujo DM, Zarzour MA, Livingston J, Ludwig JA, Ravi V, Benjamin RS, Ratan R. Systemic therapy regimen outcomes in metastatic phyllodes tumors of the breast, 2018. e-Pub 2018.
      22. Nathenson M, Conley AP, Ratan R, Zarzour MA, Somaiah N, Araujo DM, Patel S, Benjamin RS, Ravi V. Efficacy of front-line chemotherapy for recurrent/metastatic adenosarcoma of the uterus, 2016. e-Pub 2016.
      23. Conley AP, Huh WW, Roszik J, Harrison DJ, Hayes-Jordan AA, Kehr KA, Ratan R, Somaiah N, Ravi V, Araujo DM, Zarzour MA, Ludwig JA, Wang W, Benjamin RS, Patel S. Clinical characteristics of adult alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma (ARMS) patients (Pts) on front-line therapies: An MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) series, 2016. e-Pub 2016.
      24. Ravi V, Ramesh N, Patnana M, Conley AP, Somaiah N, Zarzour MA, Ingram D, Little L, Protopopov A, F Lazar AJ, Araujo DM, Torres KE, Patel S, Zhang J, Ali SM, Miller VA, Stephens PJ, Benjamin RS, Hwu P, Futreal A. Whole-exome and targeted sequencing of angiosarcomas: Target identification and treatment implications, 2014. e-Pub 2014.
      25. Mougalian S, Wang J, Zarzour M, Quinn D, Rieber A. Feasibility and savings of a suspicion of cancer clinic at a large county hospital, 2012. e-Pub 2012.
      26. Carlson H, Karanth S, Zarzour M, Lenzi R, Raber M, Varadhachary G. Patients with carcinoma of unknown primary with isolated carcinomatosis on presentation: Clinicopathologic features and survival data, 2011. e-Pub 2011.
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      CV information above last modified September 24, 2026

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