Adel K. El-Naggar, M.D., Ph.D.
Department of Anatomical Pathology, Division of Pathology-Lab Medicine Div
About Dr. El-Naggar
Dr. El-Naggar is a Senior Head and Neck Pathologist and the director of the subspecialty fellowship-training program at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. El-Naggar’s clinical and research interests are centered on the optimization of the clinico-pathologic assessment, genomic characterization biomarker discovery and integration of patients with mucosal, thyroid and parathyroid and salivary gland malignancies..
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Professor, Department of Pathology, Division of Pathology/Lab Medicine, The University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
1978 | Department of Immunology, US Naval Research Unit-3 Ein-Shams School of Medicine, Cairo, EGY, PHD, Mechanism of Cell-Mediated Immunity in Tuberculous Meningitis |
1976 | Ein-Shams School of Medicine, Cairo, EGY, DMSc, Clinical Pathology - Residency |
1970 | Ein-Shams School of Medicine, Cairo, EGY, MBChB, M.D |
Board Certifications
1988 | Anatomic and Clinical Pathology |
Experience & Service
Academic Appointments
Associate Professor and Pathologist, Director of Flow Cytometry Section, Department of Pathology, Division of Pathology, The University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 1991 - 1995
Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology, Division of Pathology/Lab Medicine, The University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 1987 - 1991
Administrative Appointments/Responsibilities
Head & Neck Section Chief, Department of Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 1998 - 2020
Head and Neck Section Chief, Cell Kinetric and Flow Cytometry, Department of Pathology, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 1987 - 1998
Honors & Awards
2014 | Endocrine-Related Cancer Award, Society for Endocrinology |
2012 | Foreign Member of the The Royal Society of Arts and Sciences in Gothenburg, Kungl. Vetenskaps- och Vitterhets-Samhället i Göteborg |
2010 | Hayes-Martin Memorial Lectureship, The American Head and Neck Surgeons |
2007 | The American Head and Neck Surgeons, Presidential Citation |
1998 | Katherine D. O'Conner Endowed Professorship in Cancer Research |
1997 | The B. Rothschild Senior Research Scholarship, Curie Institute |
1994 | Recognition Award, The Mediterranean Society of Tumor Markers |
1978 | Letter of Merits, US Naval Medical Research, Unit - 3 (NAMRU - 3) |
Professional Memberships
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Caudell JJ, Torres-Saavedra PA, Rosenthal DI, Axelrod RS, Nguyen-Tan PF, Sherman EJ, Weber RS, Galvin JM, El-Naggar AK, Konski AA, Echevarria MI, Dunlap NE, Shenouda G, Singh AK, Beitler JJ, Garsa A, Bonner JA, Garden AS, Algan O, Harris J, Le QT. Long-term update of NRG/RTOG 0522: a randomized phase III trial of concurrent radiation and cisplatin with or without cetuximab in locoregionally advanced head and neck cancer. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 116(3):533-543, 2023. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 36549347.
- William WN, Zhang J, Zhao X, Parra ER, Uraoka N, Lin HY, Peng SA, El-Naggar AK, Rodriguez-Canales J, Song J, Gillenwater AM, Wistuba II, Myers JN, Gold KA, Ferrarotto R, Hwu P, Davoli T, Lee JJ, Heymach JV, Papadimitrakopoulou VA, Lippman SM. Spatial PD-L1, immune-cell microenvironment, and genomic copy-number alteration patterns and drivers of invasive-disease transition in prospective oral precancer cohort. Cancer 129(5):714-727, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 36597662.
- Brayer KJ, Kang H, El-Naggar AK, Andreasen S, Homøe P, Kiss K, Mikkelsen L, Heegaard S, Pelaez D, Moeyersoms A, Tse DT, Guo Y, Lee DY, Ness SA. Dominant Gene Expression Profiles Define Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma (ACC) from Different Tissues: Validation of a Gene Signature Classifier for Poor Survival in Salivary Gland ACC. Cancers (Basel) 15(5), 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 36900183.
- Johnson FM, Janku F, Gouda MA, Tran HT, Kawedia JD, Schmitz D, Streefkerk H, Lee JJ, Andersen CR, Deng D, Rawal S, Shah PA, El-Naggar AK, Johnson JM, Frederick MJ. Inhibition of the Phosphatidylinositol-3 Kinase Pathway Using Bimiralisib in Loss-of-Function NOTCH1-Mutant Head and Neck Cancer. Oncologist 27(12):1004-e926, 2022. PMID: 36124629.
- Persson M, Andersson MK, Mitani Y, Brandwein-Weber MS, Frierson HF, Moskaluk C, Fonseca I, Ferrarotto R, Boecker W, Loening T, El-Naggar AK, Stenman G. Rearrangements, Expression, and Clinical Significance of MYB and MYBL1 in Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma: A Multi-Institutional Study. Cancers (Basel) 14(15), 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35954356.
- Xiong S, Chachad D, Zhang Y, Gencel-Augusto J, Sirito M, Pant V, Yang P, Sun C, Chau G, Qi Y, Su X, Whitley EM, El-Naggar AK, Lozano G. Differential gain-of-function activity of three p53 hotspot mutants in vivo. Cancer Res 82(10):1926-1936, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35320355.
- Ferrarotto R, Amit M, Nagarajan P, Rubin ML, Yuan Y, Bell D, El-Naggar AK, Johnson JM, Morrison WH, Rosenthal DI, Glisson BS, Johnson FM, Lu C, Mott FE, Esmaeli B, Diaz EM, Gidley PW, Goepfert RP, Lewis CM, Weber RS, Wargo JA, Basu S, Duan F, Yadav SS, Sharma P, Allison JP, Myers JN, Gross ND. Correction: Pilot Phase II Trial of Neoadjuvant Immunotherapy in Locoregionally Advanced, Resectable Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck. Clin Cancer Res 28(8):1735, 2022. PMID: 35419587.
- Sousa LG, Wang K, Torman D, Binks BJ, Rubin ML, Andersen CR, Lewis WE, Rivera MJ, Kaya D, El-Naggar AK, Hanna EY, Esmaeli B, Frank SJ, Bell D, Glisson BS, Rodon J, Meric-Bernstam F, Lee JJ, Ferrarotto R. Treatment patterns and outcomes of palliative systemic therapy in patients with salivary duct carcinoma and adenocarcinoma, not otherwise specified. Cancer 128(3):509-518, 2022. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 34661906.
- Ferrarotto R, Amit M, Nagarajan P, Rubin ML, Yuan Y, Bell D, El-Naggar AK, Johnson JM, Morrison WH, Rosenthal DI, Glisson BS, Johnson FM, Lu C, Mott FE, Esmaeli B, Diaz EM, Gidley PW, Goepfert RP, Lewis CM, Weber RS, Wargo JA, Basu S, Duan F, Yadav SS, Sharma P, Allison JP, Myers JN, Gross ND. Pilot Phase II Trial of Neoadjuvant Immunotherapy in Locoregionally Advanced, Resectable Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck. Clin Cancer Res 27(16):4557-4565, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 34187851.
- Karpinets TV, Mitani Y, Liu B, Zhang J, Pytynia KB, Sellen LD, Karagiannis DT, Ferrarotto R, Futreal AP, El-Naggar AK. Whole-genome Sequencing of Common Salivary Gland Carcinomas: Subtype Restricted and Shared Genetic Alterations. Clin Cancer Res 27(14):3960-3969, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 34011559.
- Ford JR, Rubin ML, Frank SJ, Ning J, Debnam JM, Bell D, El-Naggar A, Ferrarotto R, Esmaeli B. Prognostic factors for local recurrence and survival and impact of local treatments on survival in lacrimal gland carcinoma. Br J Ophthalmol 105(6):768-774, 2021. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32680839.
- Choi KY, Amit M, Tam S, Bell D, Phan J, Garden AS, Williams MD, Ferrarotto R, El-Naggar AK, Raza SM, DeMonte F, Kupferman ME, Hanna EY, Su SY. Clinical Implication of Diagnostic and Histopathologic Discrepancies in Sinonasal Malignancies. Laryngoscope 131(5):E1468-E1475, 2021. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32946597.
- Tam S, Gajera M, Luo X, Glisson BS, Ferrarotto R, Johnson FM, Mott FE, Gillison ML, Lu C, Le X, Blumenschein GR, Wong MK, Rosenthal DI, Nagarajan P, El-Naggar AK, Midgen MR, Weber RS, Myers JN, Gross ND. Cytotoxic and targeted systemic therapy in patients with advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma in the head and neck. Head Neck 43(5):1592-1603, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33522021.
- Mandal M, Kim S, Younes MN, Jasser SA, El-Naggar AK, Mills GB, Myers JN. Retraction Note to: The Akt inhibitor KP372-1 suppresses Akt activity and cell proliferation and induces apoptosis in thyroid cancer cells. Br J Cancer 124(10):1747, 2021. PMID: 33603199.
- Lulla AR, Akli S, Karakas C, Ha MJ, Fowlkes NW, Mitani Y, Bui T, Wang J, Rao X, Hunt KK, Meijer L, El-Naggar AK, Keyomarsi K. LMW cyclin E and its novel catalytic partner CDK5 are therapeutic targets and prognostic biomarkers in salivary gland cancers. Oncogenesis 10(5):40, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33990543.
- Ferrarotto R, Mitani Y, McGrail DJ, Li K, Karpinets TV, Bell D, Frank SJ, Song X, Kupferman ME, Liu B, Lee JJ, Glisson BS, Zhang J, Aster JC, Lin SY, Futreal PA, Heymach JV, El-Naggar AK. Proteogenomic Analysis of Salivary Adenoid Cystic Carcinomas Defines Molecular Subtypes and Identifies Therapeutic Targets. Clin Cancer Res 27(3):852-864, 2021. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 33172898.
- Gunn GB, Garden AS, Ye R, Ausat N, Dahlstrom KR, Morrison WH, Fuller CD, Phan J, Reddy JP, Shah SJ, Mayo LL, Chun SG, Chronowski GM, Moreno AC, Myers JN, Hanna EY, Esmaeli B, Gillison ML, Ferrarotto R, Hutcheson KA, Chambers MS, Ginsberg LE, El-Naggar AK, Rosenthal DI, Zhu XR, Frank SJ. Proton Therapy for Head and Neck Cancer: A 12-Year, Single-Institution Experience. Int J Part Ther 8(1):108-118, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 34285940.
- Sherry AD, Pasalic D, Gunn GB, Fuller CD, Phan J, Rosenthal DI, Morrison WH, Sturgis EM, Gross ND, Gillison ML, Ferrarotto R, El-Naggar AK, Garden AS, Frank SJ. Proton Beam Therapy for Head and Neck Carcinoma of Unknown Primary: Toxicity and Quality of Life. Int J Part Ther 8(1):234-247, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 34285950.
- Ferrarotto R, Mitani Y, Diao L, Guijarro I, Wang J, Zweidler-McKay P, Bell D, William WN, Glisson BS, Wick MJ, Kapoun AM, Patnaik A, Eckhardt G, Munster P, Faoro L, Dupont J, Lee JJ, Futreal A, El-Naggar AK, Heymach JV. Activating NOTCH1 Mutations Define a Distinct Subgroup of Patients With Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma Who Have Poor Prognosis, Propensity to Bone and Liver Metastasis, and Potential Responsiveness to Notch1 Inhibitors. J Clin Oncol 35(3):JCO2016675264, 2017. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27870570.
Editorials
- Perrier ND, El-Naggar AK. Editorial: How clinically significant is minimal extrathyroidal extension in papillary thyroid cancer?. Surgery 159(1):22, 2016. PMID: 26518390.
- El-Naggar AK, Westra WH. p16 expression as a surrogate marker for HPV-related oropharyngeal carcinoma: a guide for interpretative relevance and consistency. Head Neck 34(4):459-61, 2012. PMID: 22180304.
- Diegel CR, Cho KR, El-Naggar AK, Williams BO, Lindvall C. Mammalian target of rapamycin-dependent acinar cell neoplasia after inactivation of Apc and Pten in the mouse salivary gland: implications for human acinic cell carcinoma. Cancer Res 70(22):9143-52, 2010. PMID: 21062985.
- Anzick SL, Chen WD, Park Y, Meltzer P, Bell D, El-Naggar AK, Kaye FJ. Unfavorable prognosis of CRTC1-MAML2 positive mucoepidermoid tumors with CDKN2A deletions. Genes Chromosomes Cancer 49(1):59-69, 2010. PMID: 19827123.
- El-Naggar AK, Kaye FJ, Shirazi Y, Gutkind JS, Forastiere AA. Meeting report--the NIDCR 2(nd) Salivary Gland Tumor Meeting, November 2008. Head Neck 31(12):1542-3, 2009. PMID: 19890918.
- Saintigny P, El-Naggar AK, Papadimitrakopoulou V, Ren H, Fan YH, Feng L, Lee JJ, Kim ES, Hong WK, Lippman SM, Mao L. DeltaNp63 overexpression, alone and in combination with other biomarkers, predicts the development of oral cancer in patients with leukoplakia. Clin Cancer Res 15(19):6284-91, 2009. PMID: 19773378.
- Ramdas L, Giri U, Ashorn CL, Coombes KR, El-Naggar A, Ang KK, Story MD. miRNA expression profiles in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and adjacent normal tissue. Head Neck. PMID: 19260130.
- El-Naggar AK, Hopper C, Upile T, Jerjes W. Head & Neck Oncology: purpose, scope and goals-charting the future. Head Neck Oncol 1:1, 2009. PMID: 19284679.
- Liu Z, Hou P, Ji M, Guan H, Studeman K, Jensen K, Vasko V, El-Naggar AK, Xing M. Highly prevalent genetic alterations in receptor tyrosine kinases and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/akt and mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways in anaplastic and follicular thyroid cancers. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 93:3106-3116, 2008. PMID: 18492751.
- El-Naggar AK. Commentary: Clinicopathology features and long-term outcome of 293 phyllodes tumours of the breast. Breast Disease 19:144-145, 2008.
- El-Naggar AK. Commentary: Clear cell hidradenoma of the skin-a third tumor type with a t(11;19) associated TORC1-MAML2 gene fusion; Genes Chromosomes Cancer 2005;43:202-205. Adv Anat Pathology 13:80-82, 2006.
Book Chapters
- Williams MD, El-Naggar AK. Head and Neck Pathology. In: Gattuso's Differential Diagnosis in Surgical Pathology. 4th, 129-217, 2022.
- El-Naggar AK. Molecular Diagnostics of Head and neck Cancer. In: Molecular Oncology, 2021.
- Bell D, Williams MD, El-Naggar AK. Tumors of the Salivary Gland. In: Oncological Surgical Pathology. 1. Springer Cham, 541-553, 2020.
- Bell D, Williams MD, El-Naggar AK. Sinonasal and Skull Base Tumors. In: Oncological Surgical Pathology. 1. Springer Cham, 555-560, 2020.
- Bell D, Williams MD, El-Naggar AK. Thryoid and Parathyroid Tumors. In: Oncologic Surgical Pathology. 1. Springer Cham, 561-571, 2020.
- Bell D, Williams MD, El-Naggar AK. Pathology of Head and Neck Tumors. In: Oncological Surgical Pathology. 1. Springer Cham, 581-688, 2020.
Grant & Contract Support
Title: | CA200674: Characterization and targeting NOTCH activated Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma (ACC) |
Funding Source: | USA Medical Research Acq Activity |
Role: | Co-Investigator |
Title: | Genomic alterations drive a cancer-permissive immune microenvironment in oral premalignancy |
Funding Source: | Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) |
Role: | Co-Investigator |
Title: | Advancing Head and Neck Cancer Early Detection Through Proteogenomics |
Funding Source: | Johns Hopkins University (Subaward-Subcontract) |
Role: | Principal Investigator |
Title: | Immune-Related Determinants of HPV-Associated Oropharyngeal Cancer Outcomes |
Funding Source: | Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) |
Role: | Collaborator |