Jeannelyn S Estrella, M.D.
Department of Pathology, Division of Pathology-Lab Medicine Div
About Dr. Estrella
I am a GI and Liver Pathology subspecialty trained Anatomic Pathologist with over 10 years experience. My research focus is on GI and pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, working with researchers and clinicians on in vivo mouse models and translational research to contribute to the current knowledge of the mechanisms of tumorigenesis and improve quality of patient care in this relatively rare disease. I am also the primary Pathologist in the multidisciplinary gastric carcinoma team, reviewing all relevant pathology material and engaging in discussions regarding diagnosis and treatment of patients being presented.
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Associate Professor, Department of Pathology, Division of Pathology/Lab Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2005 | University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, CA, USA, MD, Doctor of Medicine |
| 1999 | University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA, BS, General Biology |
Postgraduate Training
| 2010-2011 | Clinical Fellowship, Gastrointestinal and Liver Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX |
| 2009-2010 | Clinical Fellowship, Surgical Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX |
| 2006-2009 | Clinical Residency, Anatomic Pathology, New York Presbyterian – Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY |
| 2005-2006 | Research Fellowship, Postdoctoral, Neuroscience and Pathology, University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, CA |
Honors & Awards
| 2016 | The Shirley Stein Scientific Endowment Research Award, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2012 | Best Abstract Award, First Place, Texas Society of Pathology |
| 2011 | The Jesse H. Jones Fellowship in Cancer Education Award, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2011 | Best Abstract Award, Second Place, Chinese American Pathologist Association (CAPA) |
| 1999 | Summa cum Laude, University of California, San Diego |
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Sun C, Estrella JS, Whitley EM, Chau GP, Lozano G, Wasylishen AR. Context matters - Daxx and Atrx are not robust tumor suppressors in the murine endocrine pancreas. Dis Model Mech 15(8), 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35976056.
- Halperin DM, Liu S, Dasari A, Fogelman D, Bhosale P, Mahvash A, Estrella JS, Rubin L, Morani AC, Knafl M, Overeem TA, Fu SC, Solis LM, Parra Cuentas E, Verma A, Chen HL, Gite S, Subashchandrabose P, Dervin S, Schulze K, Darbonne WC, Yun C, Wistuba II, Futreal PA, Woodman SE, Yao JC. Assessment of Clinical Response Following Atezolizumab and Bevacizumab Treatment in Patients With Neuroendocrine Tumors: A Nonrandomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Oncol 8(6):904-909, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35389428.
- Song S, Chen Q, Li Y, Lei G, Scott A, Huo L, Li CY, Estrella JS, Correa A, Pizzi MP, Ma L, Jin J, Liu B, Wang Y, Xiao L, Hofstetter WL, Lee JH, Weston B, Bhutani M, Shanbhag N, Johnson RL, Gan B, Wei S, Ajani JA. Targeting cancer stem cells with a pan-BCL-2 inhibitor in preclinical and clinical settings in patients with gastroesophageal carcinoma. Gut 70(12):2238-2248, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33487592.
- Hao D, He S, Harada K, Pizzi MP, Lu Y, Guan P, Chen L, Wang R, Zhang S, Sewastjanow-Silva M, Abdelhakeem A, Shanbhag N, Bhutani M, Han G, Lee JH, Zhao S, Weston B, Blum Murphy M, Waters R, Estrella JS, Roy-Chowdhuri S, Gan Q, Lee JS, Peng G, Hanash SM, Calin GA, Song X, Zhang J, Song S, Wang L, Ajani JA. Integrated genomic profiling and modelling for risk stratification in patients with advanced oesophagogastric adenocarcinoma. Gut 70(11):2055-2065, 2021. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 33334899.
- Raghav K, Hwang H, Jácome AA, Bhang E, Willett A, Huey RW, Dhillon NP, Modha J, Smaglo B, Matamoros A, Estrella JS, Jao J, Overman MJ, Wang X, Greco FA, Loree JM, Varadhachary GR. Development and validation of a novel nomogram for individualized prediction of survival in cancer of unknown primary (CUP). Clin Cancer Res 27(12):3414-3421, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33858857.
- Lee SH, Simoneau EB, Karpinets T, Futreal PA, Zhang J, Javle M, Zhang J, Vauthey JN, Lee JS, Estrella JS, Chun YS. Genomic Profiling of Multifocal Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma Reveals Intraindividual Concordance of Genetic Alterations. Carcinogenesis 42(3):436-441, 2021. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 33200197.
- Ajani JA, Xu Y, Huo L, Wang R, Li Y, Wang Y, Pizzi MP, Scott A, Harada K, Ma L, Yao X, Jin J, Zhao W, Dong X, Badgwell BD, Shanbhag N, Tatlonghari G, Estrella JS, Roy-Chowdhuri S, Kobayashi M, Vykoukal JV, Hanash SM, Calin GA, Peng G, Lee JS, Johnson RL, Wang Z, Wang L, Song S. YAP1 mediates gastric adenocarcinoma peritoneal metastases that are attenuated by YAP1 inhibition. Gut 70(1):55-66, 2021. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32345613.
- Wang R, Dang M, Harada K, Han G, Wang F, Pool Pizzi M, Zhao M, Tatlonghari G, Zhang S, Hao D, Lu Y, Zhao S, Badgwell BD, Blum Murphy M, Shanbhag N, Estrella JS, Roy-Chowdhuri S, Abdelhakeem AAF, Wang Y, Peng G, Hanash S, Calin GA, Song X, Chu Y, Zhang J, Li M, Chen K, Lazar AJ, Futreal A, Song S, Ajani JA, Wang L. Single-cell dissection of intratumoral heterogeneity and lineage diversity in metastatic gastric adenocarcinoma. Nat Med 27(1):141-151, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33398161.
- Yang JY, Jie Z, Mathews A, Zhou X, Li Y, Gu M, Xie X, Ko CJ, Cheng X, Qi Y, Estrella JS, Wang J, Sun SC. Intestinal Epithelial TBK1 Prevents Differentiation of T-helper 17 Cells and Tumorigenesis in Mice. Gastroenterology 159(5):1793-1806, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32745468.
- Wasylishen AR, Sun C, Moyer SM, Qi Y, Chau GP, Aryal NK, McAllister F, Kim MP, Barton MC, Estrella JS, Su X, Lozano G. Daxx maintains endogenous retroviral silencing and restricts cellular plasticity in vivo. Sci Adv 6(32):eaba8415, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32821827.
- Song S, Wang Z, Li Y, Ma L, Jin J, Scott AW, Xu Y, Estrella JS, Song Y, Liu B, Johnson RL, Ajani JA. PPARδ Interacts with the Hippo Coactivator YAP1 to Promote SOX9 Expression and Gastric Cancer Progression. Mol Cancer Res 18(3):390-402, 2020. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31796534.
- Wasylishen AR, Sun C, Chau GP, Qi Y, Su X, Kim MP, Estrella JS, Lozano G. Men1 maintains exocrine pancreas homeostasis in response to inflammation and oncogenic stress. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 117(12):6622-6629, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32156729.
- Wang R, Song S, Harada K, Ghazanfari Amlashi F, Badgwell B, Pizzi MP, Xu Y, Zhao W, Dong X, Jin J, Wang Y, Scott A, Ma L, Huo L, Vicente D, Blum Murphy M, Shanbhag N, Tatlonghari G, Thomas I, Rogers J, Kobayashi M, Vykoukal J, Estrella JS, Roy-Chowdhuri S, Han G, Zhang S, Mao X, Song X, Zhang J, Gu J, Johnson RL, Calin GA, Peng G, Lee JS, Hanash SM, Futreal A, Wang Z, Wang L, Ajani JA. Multiplex profiling of peritoneal metastases from gastric adenocarcinoma identified novel targets and molecular subtypes that predict treatment response. Gut 69(1):18-31, 2020. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31171626.
- Sonoda K, Samdani RT, Ikoma N, Kaya DM, Blum-Murphy M, Ajani JA, Badgwell BD, Katz MH, Rashid A, Estrella JS. Gastric cancer in the remnant stomach after pancreaticoduodenectomy: A case series. J Surg Oncol 120(7):1137-1141, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31498442.
- Samdani RT, Wasylishen AR, Halperin DM, Dasari A, Yao JC, Rashid A, Estrella JS. Loss of Menin Expression by Immunohistochemistry in Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors: Comparison Between Primary and Metastatic Tumors. Pancreas 48(4):510-513, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 30946241.
- Wasylishen AR, Estrella JS, Pant V, Chau GP, Lozano G. Daxx Functions are p53-independent In Vivo. Mol Cancer Res 16(10):1523-1529, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29903771.
- Ajani JA, Estrella JS, Chen Q, Correa AM, Ma L, Scott AW, Jin J, Liu B, Xie M, Sudo K, Shiozaki H, Badgwell B, Weston B, Lee JH, Bhutani MS, Onodera H, Suzuki K, Suzuki A, Ding S, Hofstetter WL, Johnson RL, Bresalier RS, Song S. Galectin-3 expression is prognostic in diffuse type gastric adenocarcinoma, confers aggressive phenotype, and can be targeted by YAP1/BET inhibitors. Br J Cancer 118(1):52-61, 2018. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 29136404.
- Estrella JS, Tetzlaff MT, Bassett RL, Patel KP, Williams MD, Curry JL, Rashid A, Hamilton SR, Broaddus RR. Assessment of BRAF V600E Status in Colorectal Carcinoma: Tissue-Specific Discordances between Immunohistochemistry and Sequencing. Mol Cancer Ther 14(12):2887-95, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 26438153.
- Liu L, Katz MH, Lee SM, Fischer LK, Prakash L, Parker N, Wang H, Varadhachary GR, Wolff RA, Lee JE, Pisters PW, Maitra A, Fleming JB, Estrella JS, Rashid A, Wang H. Superior Mesenteric Artery Margin of Posttherapy Pancreaticoduodenectomy and Prognosis in Patients with Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma. Am J Surg Pathol 39(10):1395-403, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 26200098.
- Estrella JS, Wang H, Bhosale PR, Evans HL, Abraham SC. Malignant Solitary Fibrous Tumor of the Pancreas. Pancreas 44(6):988-94, 2015. PMID: 26166470.
- Tetzlaff MT, Pattanaprichakul P, Wargo J, Fox PS, Patel KP, Estrella JS, Broaddus RR, Williams MD, Davies MA, Routbort MJ, Lazar AJ, Woodman SE, Hwu WJ, Gershenwald JE, Prieto VG, Torres-Cabala CA, Curry JL. Utility of BRAF V600E immunohistochemical expression pattern as a surrogate of BRAF mutation status in 154 patients with advanced melanoma. Hum Pathol 46(8):1101-10, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 26058727.
- Elimova E, Wadhwa R, Shiozaki H, Sudo K, Estrella JS, Badgwell BD, Das P, Matamoros A, Song S, Ajani JA. Molecular biomarkers in gastric cancer. J Natl Compr Canc Netw 13(4):e19-29, 2015. PMID: 26052595.
- Estrella JS, Ma LT, Milton DR, Yao JC, Wang H, Rashid A, Broaddus RR. Expression of Estrogen-Induced Genes and Estrogen Receptor β in Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors: Implications for Targeted Therapy. Pancreas 43(7):996-1002, 2014. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 25058880.
- Estrella JS, Taggart MW, Rashid A, Abraham SC. Low-grade neuroendocrine tumors arising in intestinal adenomas: evidence for alterations in the adenomatous polyposis coli/β-catenin pathway. Hum Pathol 45(10):2051-8, 2014. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 25149552.
- Elimova E, Shiozaki H, Wadhwa R, Sudo K, Chen Q, Estrella JS, Blum MA, Badgwell B, Das P, Song S, Ajani JA. Medical management of gastric cancer: A 2014 update. World J Gastroenterol 20(38):13637-13647, 2014. PMID: 25320502.
- Li Y, Liu Z, Liu H, Wang LE, Onodera H, Suzuki A, Suzuki K, Wadhwa R, Elimova E, Sudo K, Shiozaki H, Estrella JS, Lee JS, Song S, Tan D, Ajani JA, Wei Q. Potentially Functional Variants in the Core Nucleotide Excision Repair Genes Predict Survival in Japanese Gastric Cancer Patients. Carcinogenesis 35(9):2031-8, 2014. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 24990617.
- Estrella JS, Broaddus RR, Mathews A, Milton DR, Yao JC, Wang H, Rashid A. Progesterone Receptor and PTEN Expression Predict Survival in Patients with Low and Intermediate Grade Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors. Arch Pathol Lab Med 138(8):1027-1036, 2014. PMID: 25076292.
- Estrella JS, Li L, Rashid A, Wang H, Katz MH, Fleming JB, Abbruzzese JL, Wang H. Solid Pseudopapillary Neoplasm of the Pancreas: Clinicopathologic and Survival Analyses of 64 Cases from A Single Institution. Am J Surg Pathol 38(2):147-57, 2014. PMID: 24418850.
- Chatterjee D, Katz MH, Rashid A, Estrella JS, Wang H, Varadhachary GR, Wolff RA, Lee JE, Pisters PW, Abbruzzese JL, Fleming JB, Wang H. Pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia and histological changes in non-neoplastic pancreas associated with neoadjuvant therapy in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Histopathology 63(6):841-51, 2013. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 24111684.
- Estrella JS, Othman ML, Taggart MW, Hamilton SR, Curley SA, Rashid A, Abraham SC. Intrabiliary Growth of Liver Metastases: Clinicopathologic Features, Prevalence, and Outcome. Am J Surg Pathol 37(10):1571-9, 2013. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 23797727.
- Estrella JS, Wolf JK, Deavers MT. Ovarian Serous Carcinoma Associated With a Distinct "Corded and Hyalinized" Pattern. Arch Pathol Lab Med 137(2):275-279, 2013. PMID: 23368871.
- Wang J, Estrella JS, Peng L, Rashid A, Varadhachary GR, Wang H, Lee JE, Pisters PW, Vauthey JN, Katz MH, Gomez HF, Evans DB, Abbruzzese JL, Fleming JB, Wang H. Histologic Tumor Involvement of Superior Mesenteric Vein/Portal Vein Predicts Poor Prognosis in Patients with Stage II Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma Treated with Neoadjuvant Chemoradiation. Cancer 118(15):3801-11, 2012. e-Pub 2011. PMID: 22180096.
- Estrella JS, Rashid A, Fleming JB, Katz MH, Lee JE, Wolf RA, Varadhachary GR, Pisters PW, Abdalla EK, Vauthey JN, Wang H, Gomez HF, Evans DB, Abbruzzese JL, Wang H. Post-therapy pathologic stage and survival in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiation. Cancer 118(1):268-77, 2012. e-Pub 2011. PMID: 21735446.
- Suzuki A, Xiao L, Taketa T, Blum MA, Matamoros A, Chien PL, Mansfield PF, Fournier KF, Weston B, Lee JH, Bhutani MS, Estrella JS, Delclos ME, Krishnan S, Das P, Ajani JA. Localized Gastric Cancer Treated with Chemoradation Without Surgery: UT M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Experience. Oncology 82(6):347-351, 2012. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 22677933.
- Estrella JS, Hofstetter WL, Correa AM, Swisher SG, Ajani JA, Lee JH, Bhutani MS, Abraham SC, Rashid A, Maru DM. Duplicated Muscularis Mucosae Invasion has Similar Risk of Lymph Node Metastasis and Recurrence-Free Survival as Intramucosal Esophageal Adenocarcinoma. Am J Surg Pathol 35(7):1045-53, 2011. PMID: 21602659.
- Estrella JS, Wu TT, Rashid A, Abraham SC. Mucosal Colonization of Metastatic Carcinoma to the Gastrointestinal Tract: A Potential Mimic of Primary Neoplasia. Am J Surg Pathol 35(4):563-72, 2011. PMID: 21412071.
- Ubhi K, Peng K, Lessig S, Estrella JS, Adame A, Galasko D, Salmon DP, Hansen LA, Kawas CH, Masliah E. Neuropathology of Dementia with Lewy Bodies in Advanced Age: A Comparison with Alzheimer Disease. Neurosci Lett 485(3):222-7, 2010. e-Pub 2010. PMID: 20849919.
- Estrella JS, Nelson RN, Sturges BK, Vernau KM, Williams DC, LeCouteur RA, Shelton GD, Mizisin AP. Endoneurial Microvascular Pathology in Feline Diabetic Neuropathy. Microvasc Res 75(3):403-10, 2008. e-Pub 2007. PMID: 18207200.
- He B, Xu W, Santini PA, Polydorides AD, Chiu A, Estrella JS, Shan M, Chadburn A, Villanacci V, Plebani A, Knowles DM, Rescigno M, Cerutti A. Intestinal Bacteria Trigger T cell-independent Immunoglobulin A(2) Class Switching by Inducing Epithelial-cell Secretion of the Cytokine APRIL. Immunity 26(6):812-26, 2007. PMID: 17570691.
- Nguyen LQ, Estrella JS, Jett EA, Grunvald EL, Nicholson L, Levin DL. Acute Schistosomiasis in Nonimmune Travelers: Chest CT Findings in 10 Patients. AJR Am J Roentgenol 186(5):1300-3, 2006. PMID: 16632722.
Book Chapters
- Estrella JS. Immunohistochemistry. In: Principles of Molecular Diagnostics and Personalized Cancer Medicine. First. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins: Philadelphia, PA, 96-102, 2013.
Grant & Contract Support
| Title: | MicroRNA signature predictive of progression-free survival in stage IV pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors |
| Funding Source: | Institutional Research Grant - Clinical |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Title: | The Mechanistic Underpinnings of Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors |
| Funding Source: | Neuroendocrine Tumor Research Foundation |
| Role: | Collaborator |
| Title: | (PQ4) Mutations in the histone chaperone DAXX drive pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors not ductal adenocarcinomas |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Collaborator |
| Title: | Multidimensional Immune Profiling of Advanced Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors |
| Funding Source: | The Neuroendocrine Tumor Research Foundation |
| Role: | Co-Principal Investigator |
| Title: | Discover Novel Therapeutic Strategies for Peritoneal Metastases from Gastric Adenocarcinoma |
| Funding Source: | Department of Defense (DOD) |
| Role: | Collaborator |
| Title: | Immune-Suppression and Tumor-Stromal Interaction Mediated by Galectin-3 in Gastric Cancer-Implications of Novel Therapeutic Strategies |
| Funding Source: | Department of Defense (DOD) |
| Role: | Collaborator |
| Title: | Harnessing the Immune System in Neuroendocrine Tumors |
| Funding Source: | Conquer Cancer Foundation 2018 Career Development Award (CDA) |
| Role: | Co-Principal Investigator |
| Title: | Synergy between epigenetic reprogramming and Wnt inhibition to enhance neuroendocrine tumor radionuclide therapy |
| Funding Source: | Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) |
| Role: | Collaborator |