Benny Johnson, D.O.
Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine
About Dr. Benny Johnson
My clinical practice is centered on the management of patients with lower gastrointestinal malignancies, specifically colorectal & anal cancer. Translational research efforts are focused on identifying novel targets coupled with innovative clinical trial design for the treatment of rare and aggressive molecular subtypes of metastatic colorectal cancer such as atypical, non-V600 BRAF mutations and CMS4. Additional work is focused on elucidating the distinct tumor biology of patients with young onset colorectal cancer to more appropriately tailor therapy and clinical trial design for this unique group of patients. Finally, work is ongoing to incorporate & validate PET image analysis as a potential predictive marker of response and survival outcomes in the treatment of anal cancer patients.
Clinical Trials:
1. EA2165 - A Randomized Phase II Study of Nivolumab After Combined Modality Therapy (CMT) in High Risk Anal Cancer - Actively Accruing
*High Risk - Stage IIB (T3N0M0), IIIA (T2N1M0), IIIB (T4N0M0), or IIIC (T3N1M0)
2. 2019-0051 - An International Phase 1/2 Study of GRT-C901/GRT-R902, a Neoantigen Cancer Vaccine, In Combination with Immune Checkpoint Blockade for Patients with Advanced Solid Tumors - Activation pending
3. 2016-0998 - A Phase 1b/2 Trial of Hu5F9-G4 in Combination with Cetuximab in Patients with Solid Tumors and Advanced Colorectal Cancer - Not currently accruing
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Assistant Professor, Department of Gastrointestinal (GI) Medical Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2010 | Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM), Philadelphia, PA, USA, DO, Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine |
| 2005 | Villanova University (VU) , Villanova, PA, USA, BS, Bachelor of Science Biology, Minor in Chemistry, Ethics concentration in Health care |
Postgraduate Training
| 2016-2017 | Clinical Fellowship, Advanced Gastrointestinal Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN |
| 2013-2016 | Clinical Fellowship, Hematology and Oncology, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center & West Cancer Center, Memphis, TN |
| 2010-2013 | Clinical Residency, Internal Medicine, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, Danville, PA |
Board Certifications
| 2016 | ABIM, Medical Oncology |
| 2013 | ABIM, Internal Medicine |
Honors & Awards
| 2018 | ASCO/AACR Vail Workshop Attendee: Methods in Clinical Cancer Research, ASCO/AACR |
| 2016 | Fellow of the Year, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center |
| 2015 | Fellow Travel Award Recipient, Poster Presentation at 25th Annual Mayo Clinic Hematology/Oncology, Mayo Clinic Cancer Center |
| 2014 | Cancer Center Trainee Research Award, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center |
| 2013 | Resident and Fellow Research Day- First Prize Winner Oral Research Presentation, Geisinger Medical Center |
| 2010 | Intern of the Year, Geisinger Medical Center, Internal Medicine Residency Program |
Professional Memberships
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Johnson B, Loree JM, Jacome AA, et al.. Atypical, Non-V600 BRAF Mutations as a Potential Mechanism of Resistance to EGFR Inhibition in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer. JCO Precision Oncology(3):1-10, 2019.
- Jin Z, Sanhueza CT, Johnson B, Nagorney DM, Larson DW, Mara KC, Harmsen WC, Smyrk TC, Grothey A, Hubbard JM. Outcome of Mismatch Repair-Deficient Metastatic Colorectal Cancer: The Mayo Clinic Experience. Oncologist 23(9):1083-1091, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29674439.
- Johnson B, Jin Z, Haddock MG, Hallemeier CL, Martenson JA, Smoot RL, Larson DW, Dozois EJ, Nagorney DM, Grothey A. A Curative-Intent Trimodality Approach for Isolated Abdominal Nodal Metastases in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer: Update of a Single-Institutional Experience. Oncologist 23(6):679-685, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29445027.
- Johnson B, Jin Z, Truty MJ, Smoot RL, Nagorney DM, Kendrick ML, Kipp BR, Grothey A. Impact of Metastasectomy in the Multimodality Approach for BRAF V600E Metastatic Colorectal Cancer: The Mayo Clinic Experience. Oncologist 23(1):128-134, 2018. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28904173.
- Johnson B, Cooke L, Mahadevan D. Next generation sequencing identifies 'interactome' signatures in relapsed and refractory metastatic colorectal cancer. J Gastrointest Oncol 8(1):20-31, 2017. PMID: 28280605.
- Johnson B, Khalil M, Blansfield J, Lin F, Zhu S, Kirchner HL, Weir AB. Investigating the prognostic value of KOC (K homology domain containing protein overexpressed in cancer) overexpression after curative intent resection of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. J Gastrointest Oncol 7(6):E113-E117, 2016. PMID: 28078135.
- Jamy O, Nunnery S, Giri S, Wiedower E, Johnson B, Yaghmour G, Martin MG. Under-recognition of hemophagocytic syndrome in United States' rural, non-teaching hospitals. Leuk Lymphoma 57(12):2911-2913, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27087428.
- Johnson B, Giri S, Nunnery SE, Wiedower E, Jamy O, Yaghmour G, Chandler JC, Martin MG. Comorbidities Drive Outcomes for Both Malignancy-Associated and Non-Malignancy-Associated Hemophagocytic Syndrome. Clin Lymphoma Myeloma Leuk 16(4):230-6, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 26837475.
- Johnson B, Vanderwalde A, Javadi N, Feldman R, Reddy SB. Molecular profiling of a case of advanced pancreatic cancer identifies an active and tolerable combination of targeted therapy with backbone chemotherapy. J Gastrointest Oncol 7(2):E6-E12, 2016. PMID: 27034805.
- Qi W, Morales C, Cooke LS, Johnson B, Somer B, Mahadevan D. Reciprocal feedback inhibition of the androgen receptor and PI3K as a novel therapy for castrate-sensitive and -resistant prostate cancer. Oncotarget 6(39):41976-87, 2015. PMID: 26506516.
- Giri S, Chi M, Johnson B, McCormick D, Jamy O, Bhatt VR, Martin MG. Secondary acute lymphoblastic leukemia is an independent predictor of poor prognosis. Leuk Res 39(12):1342-6, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 26427729.
- Johnson B, Mahadevan D. Emerging Role and Targeting of Carcinoembryonic Antigen-related Cell Adhesion Molecule 6 (CEACAM6) in Human Malignancies. Clin Cancer Drugs 2(2):100-111, 2015. PMID: 27595061.
- Johnson B, Johnson R. Secondary Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (SHLH) in the Context of Newly Diagnosed Philadelphia Posi¬tive, CD 20+ B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Lymphoma (B-ALL): A Case Report and Brief Review of Literature. J Cancer Biol Res 3(2):1061, 2013.
- Johnson B, Khalil M. Discordant tumor response in the treatment of ALK-rearranged non-small cell lung cancer leads to the diagnosis of synchronous multiple primary lung cancer. Case Reports in Clinical Medicine 2(1):16-19, 2013.
- Parseghian CM, Loree JM, Morris VK, Liu X, Clifton KK, Napolitano S, Henry JT, Pereira AA, Vilar E, Johnson B, Kee B, Raghav K, Dasari A, Wu J, Garg N, Raymond VM, Banks KC, Talasaz AA, Lanman RB, Strickler JH, Hong DS, Corcoran RB, Overman MJ, Kopetz S. Anti-EGFR Resistant Clones Decay Exponentially After Progression: Implications for Anti-EGFR Re-challenge. Ann Oncol. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 30462160.
- Johnson B, Eng C. More questions regarding HIPEC in colorectal carcinomatosis. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31371229.
Invited Articles
- Johnson B, Eng C. The promise of immunotherapy in anal squamous cell carcinoma: a novel approach for an orphan disease. Clin Adv Hematol Oncol 15(12):968-961, 2017. PMID: 29315288.
Abstracts
- Johnson B. Activity of EGFR inhibition in atypical (non-V600E) BRAF-mutated metastatic colorectal cancer. J Clin Oncol 37(suppl 4; abstr 596), 2019.
- Raghav KPS, Fournier KF, Johnson B, Taggart MW, Foo WC, Matamoros A, Mehdizadeh A, Ahmed SU, Guerra JL, Mansfield PF, Royal RE, Eng C, Overman MJ. Interplay of grade and stage on survival outcomes in appendiceal adenocarcinoma: Corroboration of the AJCC (8th edition) Cancer Staging Classification. 2018 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium 36(suppl 4S), 2018.
- Johnson B, Jin Z., Truty M., et al.. Impact of Metastasectomy in the Multimodality Approach for BRAFV600E Metastatic Colorectal Cancer (mCRC): The Mayo Clinic Experience, 2017.
- Johnson B, Jin Z., Haddock, M.G., et al.. A curative intent trimodality approach for advanced isolated abdominal nodal metastasis in metastatic colorectal cancer: update of a single-institutional experience, 2017.
- Johnson B, Cooke, L., Mahadevan, D.. Novel mutational and pathway signatures in relapsed/refractory colorectal cancer patients, 2016.
- Johnson B, Giri S., Nunnery S., Wiedower E., Jamy O., Chandler J., Martin MG. Comorbidities Drive Outcomes for both Malignancy and Non-Malignancy Associated Hemophagocytic Syndrome, 2015.
- Johnson B, Khalil, M.F., Blansfield, J., Lin, F., Zhu S., Kirchner, L.H.. Investigating the prognostic value of a panel of biomarkers after curative intent resection of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, 2013.
- Johnson, B, Khalil, M.F., Lin, F., Zhu, S., Kirchner, L.H.. KOC (K homology domain containing protein overexpressed in cancer) overexpression and progression-free survival after curative intent resection of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, 2012.