Cezar A. Iliescu, MD, FACC, FSCAI
Department of Cardiology, Division of Internal Medicine
About Dr. Iliescu
I am an interventional cardiologist interested in vascular biology in cancer patients, endovascular treatment of patients with chronic thrombocytopenia, physiologic assessment of coronary stenosis, treatment of radiation induced cardiovascular disease.
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Professor, Department of Cardiology, Division of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Interventional Cardiologist, Department of Cardiology, Division of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Associate Professor, Department of Cardiology, Division of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Director, Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, Department of Cardiology, Division of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Dual/Joint/Adjunct Appointment
Professor, Department of Cardiology, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX
Research Interests
Physiologic assessment of coronary stenosis in the cardiac catheterization laboratory and management of intermediate lesions
Acute coronary syndrome treatment in patients with chronic thrombocytopenia
Peripheral vascular disease-modern therapies
Clinical Interests
Vascular biology in cancer patients
Endovascular treatment of patients with chronic thrombocytopenia
Physiologic assessment of coronary stenosis
Treatment of radiation induced cardiovascular disease
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 1994 | University of Medicine and Pharmacy "Carol Davila", Bucharest, ROM, MD, Medicine |
| 1987 | Mihai Viteazul National College, Bucharest, ROM, BS, Basic Science |
Postgraduate Training
| 2007-2008 | Clinical Fellowship, Interventional Cardiology, University of Texas-Houston, Houston, TX |
| 2004-2007 | Clinical Fellowship, Cardiology, University of Texas-Houston, Houston, TX |
| 2002-2004 | Resident, Medicine, University of Texas-Houston, Houston, TX |
| 2001-2002 | Intern, Medicine, University of Texas-Houston, Houston, TX |
| 1995-2000 | Resident, Surgery, Fundeni National Hospital, Bucharest |
| 1994-1995 | Intern, Transitional, Fundeni National Hospital, Bucharest |
Board Certifications
| 2008 | American Board of Internal Medicine - Interventional Cardiology |
| 2007 | Cardiovascular Diseases |
| 2006 | Advanced Nuclear Course |
| 2005 | Certification in Adult Intracardiac Echocardiography |
| 2004 | American Board of Internal Medicine - Cardiology |
| 2000 | Romanian Board of General Surgery |
Experience & Service
Academic Appointments
Assistant Professor, Department of Cardiology, Division of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2008 - 2013
Assistant Professor, University of Medicine and Pharmacy "Carol Davila", Bucharest, 2000 - 2001
Institutional Committee Activities
Chairman, Cardiology Valve Board, 2012 - Present
Member, Antiplatelet Anticoagulation Working Group, 2012 - Present
Chairman, Cardiopulmonary and Resuscitation Committee, 2009 - Present
Member, Cardiopulmonary and Resuscitation Committee, 2009 - 2009
Member, Critical Results Policy Task Force, 2009 - Present
Member, Clinical Safety and Effectiveness Committee, 2009 - Present
Member, Difficult Airway Task Force, 2009 - Present
Co-Chair, Acute Coronary Syndrome EC Working Group, 2009 - Present
Honors & Awards
| 2019 | Honorary Member, Romanian Society of Cardiology |
| 2019 | Certificat de Absolvire, Romanian National Congress of Cardiology |
| 2019 | Diploma de Onoare, Romanian National Congress of Cardiology |
| 2019 | Cyrus Scholar Award in Clinical Research, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2017 | Special Recognition Excellence in Teaching Award, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston |
| 2016 | Outstanding Faculty Teacher, UT Health Science Center Houston |
| 2016 | Certificate of Appreciation, Tapan Upper Gulf Coast Region |
| 2014 | Outstanding Interventional Faculty, UT Health Science Center at Houston |
| 2014 | CardioSurve Panelist, American College of Cardiology |
| 2013 | Best Teacher of the Year, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2013 | Heart of Leadership Program, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2012 | Best Teacher of the Year, Department of Cardiology, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2011 | Division of Internal Medicine Clinical Leader of the Year, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2010 | Romanian Health Order Award-Officer, Romanian State President |
| 2007 | Outstanding Contribution to the Field of Cardiology Diploma, Second Cardiology Fellowship Conference |
| 2007 | Outstanding Clinical Fellow, University of Texas Health Science Center |
| 2004 | Treasurer House Staff Association, Memorial Hermann Hospital |
| 2004 | Outstanding Contribution to the Field of Cardiology Diploma, First Cardiology Fellowship Conference |
| 1992 | Student Representative, "Carol Davila" University Senate |
Professional Memberships
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Gill C, Lee M, Balanescu DV, Donisan T, Serauto Canache AJ, Palaskas N, Lopez-Mattei J, Kim PY, Song J, Yang EH, Cilingiroglu M, Kar B, Gregoric I, Marmagkiolis K, Iakobishvili Z, Iliescu C. Transcatheter and Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement Impact on Outcomes and Cancer Treatment Schedule. Int J Cardiol 326:62-70, 2021. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32858137.
- Bisceglia I, Canale ML, Lestuzzi C, Parrini I, Russo G, Colivicchi F, Gabrielli D, Gulizia MM, Iliescu CA, on the behalf of ANMCO Cardio-Oncology Task Force. Acute coronary syndromes in cancer patients. J Cardiovasc Med (Hagerstown) 21(12):944-952, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32520859.
- Bravo-Jaimes K, Marcellon R, Varanitskaya L, Kim PY, Iliescu C, Gilchrist SC, Baldassarre LA, Manisty C, Ghosh AK, Guha A, Lopez-Mattei JC. Opportunities for improved cardiovascular disease prevention in oncology patients. Curr Opin Cardiol 35(5):531-537, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32649353.
- Elghazawy H, Venkatesulu BP, Verma V, Pushparaji B, Monlezun DJ, Marmagkiolis K, Iliescu CA. The role of cardio-protective agents in cardio-preservation in breast cancer patients receiving Anthracyclines ± Trastuzumab: a Meta-analysis of clinical studies. Crit Rev Oncol Hematol 153:103006, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32777728.
- Balanescu DV, Donisan T, Deswal A, Palaskas N, Song J, Lopez-Mattei J, Kim PY, Durand JB, Doundoua D, Marmagkiolis K, Iliescu C. Acute myocardial infarction in a high-risk cancer population: Outcomes following conservative versus invasive management. Int J Cardiol 313:1-8, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32320781.
- Potts J, Mohamed MO, Lopez Mattei JC, Iliescu CA, Konopleva M, Rashid M, Bagur R, Mamas MA. Percutaneous coronary intervention and in-hospital outcomes in patients with leukemia: a nationwide analysis. Catheter Cardiovasc Interv 96(1):53-63, 2020. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31410970.
- Balanescu DV, Donisan T, Palaskas N, Lopez-Mattei J, Kim PY, Buja LM, McNamara DM, Kobashigawa JA, Durand JB, Iliescu CA. Immunomodulatory treatment of immune checkpoint inhibitor-induced myocarditis: Pathway toward precision-based therapy. Cardiovasc Pathol 47:107211, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32268262.
- Mohamed MO, Lopez-Mattei JC, Parwani P, Iliescu CA, Bharadwaj A, Kim PY, Palaskas NL, Rashid M, Potts J, Kwok CS, Gulati M, Al Zubaidi AMB, Mamas MA. Management strategies and clinical outcomes of acute myocardial infarction in leukaemia patients: Nationwide insights from United States hospitalisations. Int J Clin Pract 74(5):e13476, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 31922635.
- Lopez-Mattei J, Verstovsek S, Fellman B, Iliescu C, Bhatti K, Hassan SA, Kim P, Gray BA, Palaskas NL, Grosu HB, Mamas MA, Faiz SA. Prevalence of pulmonary hypertension in myelofibrosis. Ann Hematol 99(4):781-789, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32076825.
- Okutucu S, Ates I, Marmagkiolis K, Kose G, Iliescu C, Cilingiroglu M. Successful WATCHMAN device implantation in a patient with IVC filter thrombosis and iliac vein occlusions. Cardiovasc Revasc Med 21(3):409-411, 2020. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31257173.
- Balanescu DV, Donisan T, Palaskas N, Lopez-Mattei J, Iliescu C. Halloween in the Cath Lab: spider web pericardial effusion. Eur Heart J Cardiovasc Imaging 21(3):317, 2020. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31501856.
- Balanescu DV, Donisan T, Lopez-Mattei J, Patel S, Hong DS, Kim PY, Moudgil R, Palaskas N, Buja LM, Zhao B, Raghunathan D, Yusuf SW, Durand JB, Iliescu C. A histopathologic and imaging description of myocarditis induced by immune checkpoint inhibitors: pathway toward precision-based therapy. J Immunother, 2020. e-Pub 2020.
- Hoyt T, Feldman MD, Okutucu S, Lendel V, Marmagkiolis K, McIntosh V, Ates I, Kose G, Mego D, Paixao A, Iliescu C, Park J, Shaar M, Avci R, McElroy A, Dijkstra J, Milner TE, Cilingiroglu M. Assessment of vascular patency and inflammation with intravascular optical coherence tomography in patients with superficial femoral artery disease treated with Zilver PTX stents. Cardiovasc Revasc Med 21(1):101-107, 2020. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31395436.
- Palaskas N, Lopez-Mattei J, Durand JB, Iliescu C, Deswal A. Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Myocarditis: Pathophysiological Characteristics, Diagnosis, and Treatment. J Am Heart Assoc 9(2):e013757, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 31960755.
- Agha AM, Gill C, Balanescu DV, Donisan T, Palaskas N, Lopez-Mattei J, Hassan S, Kim PY, Charitakis K, Cilingiroglu M, Oo TH, Kroll M, Durand JB, Hirsch-Ginsberg C, Marmagkiolis K, Iliescu C. Identifying Hemostatic Thresholds in Cancer Patients Undergoing Coronary Angiography Based on Platelet Count and Thromboelastography. Front Cardiovasc Med 7:9, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32118047.
- Zarifa A, Lopez-Mattei J, Palaskas N, Iliescu C, Durand JB, Kim PY. Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors (ICIs)-Related Cardiotoxicity. Adv Exp Med Biol 1244:277-285, 2020. PMID: 32301022.
- Marmagkiolis K, Iliescu C, Edupuganti MMR, Saad M, Boudoulas KD, Gupta A, Lontos N, Cilingiroglu M. Primary Patency With Stenting Versus Balloon Angioplasty for Arteriovenous Graft Failure: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. J Invasive Cardiol 31(12):E356-E361, 2019. PMID: 31786526.
- Marmagkiolis K, Hakeem A, Ebersole DG, Iliescu C, Ates I, Cilingiroglu M. Clinical outcomes of percutaneous mitral valve repair with MitraClip for the management of functional mitral regurgitation. Catheter Cardiovasc Interv 94(6):820-826, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 30938045.
- Donisan T, Balanescu DV, Palaskas N, Lopez-Mattei J, Karimzad K, Kim P, Charitakis K, Cilingiroglu M, Marmagkiolis K, Iliescu C. Cardiac Interventional Procedures in Cardio-Oncology Patients. Cardiol Clin 37(4):469-486, 2019. PMID: 31587788.
- Hassan SA, Palaskas NL, Agha AM, Iliescu C, Lopez-Mattei J, Chen C, Zheng H, Yusuf SW. Carcinoid Heart Disease: a Comprehensive Review. Curr Cardiol Rep 21(11):140, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31745664.
- Borovac JA, Kwok CS, Iliescu C, Lee HJ, Kim PY, Palaskas NL, Zaman A, Butler R, Lopez-Mattei JC, Mamas MA. Percutaneous Coronary Intervention and Outcomes in Patients With Lymphoma in the United States (Nationwide Inpatient Sample [NIS] Analysis). Am J Cardiol 124(8):1190-1197, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31395298.
- Milgrom SA, Varghese B, Gladish GW, Choi AD, Dong W, Patel ZS, Chung CC, Rao A, Pinnix CC, Gunther JR, Dabaja BS, Lin SH, Hoffman KE, Huff JL, Slagowski J, Abe JI, Iliescu CA, Banchs J, Yusuf SW, Lopez-Mattei JC. Coronary Artery Dose-Volume Parameters Predict Risk of Calcification After Radiation Therapy. J Cardiovasc Imaging 27(4):268-279, 2019. PMID: 31614398.
- Agha A, Zarifa A, Kim P, Iliescu C, Gladish G, Hassan S, Palaskas N, Durand JB, Lu Y, Lopez-Mattei J. The Role of Cardiovascular Imaging and Serum Biomarkers in Identifying Cardiotoxicity Related to Cancer Therapeutics. Methodist Debakey Cardiovasc J 15(4):258-266, 2019. PMID: 31988686.
- Schechter M, Balanescu DV, Donisan T, Dayah TJ, Kar B, Gregoric I, Giza DE, Song J, Lopez-Mattei J, Kim P, Balanescu SM, Cilingiroglu M, Toutouzas K, Smalling RW, Marmagkiolis K, Iliescu C. An update on the management and outcomes of cancer patients with severe aortic stenosis. Catheter Cardiovasc Interv 94(3):438-445, 2019. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 30549397.
- Sudasena D, Balanescu DV, Donisan T, Hassan S, Palaskas N, Kim P, Karimzad K, Lopez-Mattei J, Arain S, Gould KL, Iliescu C. Fulminant vascular and cardiac toxicity associated with tyrosine kinase inhibitor sorafenib. Cardiovasc Toxicol 19(4):382-387, 2019. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 30543051.
- Balanescu SM, Balanescu DV, Donisan T, Yang EH, Palaskas N, Lopez-Mattei J, Hassan S, Kim P, Cilingiroglu M, Marmagkiolis K, Kar B, Iliescu C. The onco-cardiologist dilemma: to implant, to defer, or to avoid transcatheter aortic valve replacement in cancer patients with aortic stenosis?. Curr Cardiol Rep 21(8):83, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31286273.
- Zarifa A, Albittar A, Kim PY, Hassan S, Palaskas N, Iliescu C, Durand JB, Lopez-Mattei J. Cardiac toxicities of anticancer treatments: chemotherapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy. Curr Opin Cardiol 34(4):441-450, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31082852.
- Potts JE, Iliescu CA, Lopez Mattei JC, Martinez SC, Holmvang L, Ludman P, De Belder MA, Kwok CS, Rashid M, Fischman DL, Mamas MA. Percutaneous coronary intervention in cancer patients: a report of the prevalence and outcomes in the United States. Eur Heart J 2018 Nov 30. doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehy769(22):1790-1800, 2019. PMID: 30500952.
- Balanescu DV, Donisan T, Lopez-Mattei J, Hassan S, Kim P, Dasari A, Halperin D, Yao J, Kar B, Gregoric I, Balanescu SM, Iliescu C. The 1, 2, 3, 4 of carcinoid heart disease: comprehensive cardiovascular imaging is the mainstay of complex surgical treatment. Oncol Lett 17(5):4126-4132, 2019. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 30944605.
- Balanescu DV, Donisan T, Dayah T, Palaskas N, Lopez-Mattei J, Kim P, Pinnix CC, Moudgil R, Balanescu SM, Herrmann J, Cilingiroglu M, Marmagkiolis K, Iliescu C. Refractory radiation-induced coronary artery disease: mapping the path and guiding treatment with optical coherence tomography. Int J Cardiovasc Imaging 35(5):759-760, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 30758691.
- Layoun ME, Yang EH, Herrmann J, Iliescu CA, Lopez-Mattei JC, Marmagkiolis K, Budoff MJ, Ferencik M. Applications of Cardiac Computed Tomography in the Cardio-Oncology Population. Curr Treat Options Oncol 20(6):47, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31056717.
- Palaskas N, Morgan J, Daigle T, Banchs J, Durand JB, Hong D, Naing A, Le H, Hassan SA, Karimzad K, Mouhayar E, Kim P, Lopez-Mattei J, Thompson K, Yusuf SW, Iliescu C. Targeted Cancer Therapies With Pericardial Effusions Requiring Pericardiocentesis Focusing on Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors. Am J Cardiol doi: 10.1016(8):1351-1357, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 30765065.
- Lopez-Mattei J, Kim P, Iliescu C. Editorial commentary: Update on cardio-oncology: Novel cancer therapeutics and associated cardiotoxicities. Trends Cardiovasc Med 29(1):40, 2019. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29958808.
- Balanescu DV, Monlezun DJ, Donisan T, Boone D, Cervoni-Curet F, Palaskas N, Lopez-Mattei J, Kim P, Iliescu C, Balanescu SM. A cancer paradox: machine learning-backed propensity score analysis of coronary angiography findings in cardio-oncology. J Invasive Cardiol 31(1):1-6, 2019. PMID: 30611123.
- Donisan T, *Balanescu DV, Lopez-Mattei J, Kim P, Durand JB, Balanescu SM, Marmagkiolis K, Iliescu C. Acute drops in ejection fraction in contemporary cardio-oncology: old diagnoses, new offenders. Cancer Biol Med 29(2):246-250, 2019. e-Pub 2019.
- Donisan T, Balanescu DV, Iliescu C, Balanescu SM. Rescue manual aspiration thrombectomy for the treatment of acute embolic mesenteric ischemia. Texas Heart Journal, 2019. e-Pub 2019.
- Balanescu DV, Monlezun DJ, Donisan T, Boone D, Cervoni-Curet F, Palaskas N, Lopez-Mattei J, Kim P, Iliescu C, Balanescu SM. A Cancer Paradox: Machine-Learning Backed Propensity-Score Analysis of Coronary Angiography Findings in Cardio-Oncology. The Journal of Invasive Cardiology 31(1):1-6, 2019.
- Kim P, Lopez-Mattei J, Iliescu C. QTc Interval and Cardiac Events in Cancer Patients: An Analysis of MD Anderson's ECG Database. Internal Committee of Medical Journal Editors, 2019. e-Pub 2019.
- Munoz-Gonzalez E, Poulin MF, Goel M, Oyenusi O, Iliescu C, Okwuosa TM. PCI in Patients With Cancer. Cardiac Interventions Today, Cardio-Oncology 13(1):60-65, 2019.
- Donisan T, Balanescu DV, Iliescu G, Lopez-Mattei J, Palaskas N, Kim PY, Durand JB, Balanescu SM, Marmagkiolis K, Iliescu C. Acute drops in ejection fraction in contemporary cardio-oncology: old diagnosis, new offenders. Romanian Journal of Cardiology Vol. 29(No. 2):246-250, 2019.
- Agha AM, Lopez-Mattei J, Donisan T, Balanescu D, Iliescu CA, Banchs J, Kim PY, Palaskas NL, Yusuf S, Gladish G, Hassan S. Multimodality imaging in carcinoid heart disease. Open Heart 6(1):e001060, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31245014.
Invited Articles
- Ghotra AS, Thompson K, Lopez-Mattei J, Bawa D, Hernandez R, Banchs J, Palaskas N, Iliescu C, Kim P, Yusuf SW, Hassan SA. Cardiovascular Manifestations of Erdheim-Chester Disease. Echocardiography 36(2):229-236, 2019. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 30569522.
- Giza DE, Boccalandro F, Lopez-Mattei J, Iliescu G, Karimzad K, Kim P, Iliescu C. Ischemic Heart Disease: Special Considerations in Cardio-Oncology. Curr Treat Options Cardiovasc Med 19(5):37, 2017. PMID: 28425056.
- Iliescu C, Munoz E, Giza D, Marmagkiolis K. Special Considerations of Cardio-Oncology Patients in the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory. American College of Cardiology, 2017.
- Iliescu C, Tsitlakidou D, Giza DE, Marmagkiolis K. Percutaneous Coronary Interventions in Cancer Patients. Cancer Research Frontiers, 2017.
- Giza D, Iliescu G, Hassan S, Konstantinos M, Iliescu C. Cancer: A Risk Factor for Cardiovascular Disease?. Current Reports in Oncology 19, 2016.
- Barac A, Murtagh G, Carver JR, Chen MH, Freeman AM, Herrmann J, Iliescu C, Ky B, Mayer EL, Okwuosa TM, Plana JC, Ryan TD, Rzeszut AK, Douglas PS. Cardiovascular Health of Patients With Cancer and Cancer Survivors: A Roadmap to the Next Level. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 2015.
Other Articles
- Iliescu C, Winstead T Treating Cancer without Harming the Heart. National Cancer Institute's Cancer Currents blog (Media), 2018.
Editorials
- C Iliescu, S Hassan. The story of the broken soul that ultimately breaks the heart? Parallels and crossroads in a complex clinical scenario. Romanian Journal of Cardiology 29(3):411-414, 2019.
Book Chapters
- Munoz E, Greet B, Marmagkiolis, Iliescu C. Cardiovascular Interventions for Cancer Patients. In: Cancer and the Heart. 3rd: United States, 2019.
- Balanescu DV, Donisan T, Marmagkiolis K, Iliescu C. Interventional Cardiology in the Cancer Patient. In: Oncological Critical Care. Springer, 2019.
- Donisan T, Balanescu DV, Iliescu G, Marmagkiolis K, Iliescu C. Acute coronary syndrome, thrombocytopenia, and antiplatelet therapy in critically ill cancer patients. In: Oncologic Critical Care. Springer, 2019.
- Nates J, Price K, Azimpoor KK, Iliescu C. Cardiovascular Diseases: Interventional Cardiology in the Cancer Patient. In: Oncologic Critical Care Textbook. 1st. Springer Nature, 2018.
- Iliescu C. Acute Coronary Syndromes. In: Cancer Critical Care, 2017.
- Munoz E, Iliescu G, Marmagkiolis K, Iliescu C. Miscellaneous Syndromes (Takotsubo's, Orthostasis, and Differentiation Syndrome). In: Clinical Cardio-oncology. Elsevier Health Sciences, 2017.
- Labianca R, Lestuzzi C, Iliescu C, Ghilardi L. Cardiotoxicity: Cardiac Ischemia. In: Manual of Cardio-oncology; Cardiovascular Care in the Cancer Patient. Springer International: Switzerland, 143-163, 2017.
- Parrini I, Lestuzzi C, Iliescu C, Stanzione B. Treatments in Patients with Cancer and Cardiac Diseases. In: Manual of Cardio-oncology: Cardiovascular Care in the Cancer Patient. Springer International Publishing: Switzerland, 257-275, 2017.
- Chaftari P, Mouhayar E, Iliescu C, Hassan S, Kim P. Cardiac Emergencies in Cancer Patients. In: Oncologic Emergencies. Springer, 2016.
- Iliescu C. Radiation-related Cardiovascular Disease. In: Cancer Critical Care, 2067-76, 2015.
- Iliescu CA, Iliescu GD, Marmagkiolis K. Myocardial Ischemia and Acute Coronary Syndrome in Cancer Patients. In: OncoCardiology, 2015.