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
- 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.
- Ikoma N, Estrella JS, Blum M, Das P, Chen HC, Wang X, Fournier K, Mansfield P, Ajani J, Badgwell BD. Central Lymph Node Metastasis in Gastric Cancer Is Predictive of Survival After Preoperative Therapy. J Gastrointest Surg 22(8):1325-1333, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29679346.
- Ikoma N, Estrella JS, Hofstetter W, Das P, Minsky BD, Ajani JA, Fournier KF, Mansfield P, Badgwell BD. Nodal Downstaging in Gastric Cancer Patients: Promising Survival if ypN0 is Achieved. Ann Surg Oncol 25(7):2012-2017, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29748883.
- Ikoma N, Hofstetter WL, Estrella JS, Das P, Minsky BD, Fournier KF, Mansfield PF, Ajani JA, Badgwell BD. The ypT category does not impact overall survival in node negative gastric cancer. J Surg Oncol 117(8):1721-1728, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29949666.
- Ikoma N, Blum M, Estrella JS, Das P, Hofstetter WL, Fournier KF, Mansfield P, Ajani JA, Badgwell BD. Evaluation of the American Joint Committee on Cancer 8th edition staging system for gastric cancer patients after preoperative therapy. Gastric Cancer 21(1):74-83, 2018. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28643144.
- 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.
- Elimova E, Slack RS, Chen HC, Planjery V, Shiozaki H, Shimodaira Y, Charalampakis N, Lin Q, Harada K, Wadhwa R, Estrella JS, Kaya DM, Sagebiel T, Lee JH, Weston B, Bhutani M, Murphy MB, Matamoros A, Minsky B, Das P, Mansfield PF, Badgwell BD, Ajani JA. Patterns of relapse in patients with localized gastric adenocarcinoma who had surgery with or without adjunctive therapy: costs and effectiveness of surveillance. Oncotarget 8(46):81430-81440, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 29113402.
- Ikoma N, Chen HC, Wang X, Blum M, Estrella JS, Fournier K, Mansfield P, Ajani J, Badgwell BD. Patterns of Initial Recurrence in Gastric Adenocarcinoma in the Era of Preoperative Therapy. Ann Surg Oncol 24(9):2679-2687, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28332034.
- Charalampakis N, Xiao L, Lin Q, Elimova E, Shimodaira Y, Harada K, Rogers JE, Mares J, Amlashi FG, Minsky BD, Das P, Hofstetter WL, Matamoros A, Sagebiel TL, Blum-Murphy MA, Lee JH, Weston B, Bhutani MS, Mansfield PF, Estrella JS, Badgwell BD, Ajani JA. Co-morbidities Rather than Age Impact Outcomes in Patients Receiving Preoperative Therapy for Gastroesophageal Adenocarcinoma. Ann Surg Oncol 24(8):2291-2301, 2017. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27770339.
- Mizrak Kaya D, Dong X, Nogueras-González GM, Xu Y, Estrella JS, Harada K, Lopez A, Amlashi FG, Hofstetter WL, Maru DM, Nguyen QN, Lee JH, Weston B, Bhutani MS, Erasmus JJ, Thomas I, Rogers JE, Song S, Ajani JA. Post-trimodality expression levels of metadherin (MTDH) as a prognostic biomarker for esophageal adenocarcinoma patients. Med Oncol 34(8):135, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28685276.
- Agnes A, Estrella JS, Badgwell B. The significance of a nineteenth century definition in the era of genomics: linitis plastica. World J Surg Oncol 15(1):123, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28679451.
- Ikoma N, Blum M, Chiang YJ, Estrella JS, Roy-Chowdhuri S, Fournier K, Mansfield P, Ajani J, Badgwell BD. Race Is a Risk for Lymph Node Metastasis in Patients With Gastric Cancer. Ann Surg Oncol 24(4):960-965, 2017. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27778127.
- Roland CL, Starker LF, Kang Y, Chatterjee D, Estrella J, Rashid A, Katz MH, Aloia TA, Lee JE, Dasari A, Yao JC, Fleming JB. Loss of DPC4/SMAD4 expression in primary gastrointestinal neuroendocrine tumors is associated with cancer-related death after resection. Surgery 161(3):753-759, 2017. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27816207.
- Saab J, Estrella JS, Chen YT and Yantiss RK. Immunohistochemical and molecular features of gastric hyperplastic polyps. Adv Cytol Pathol 2(1):00012, 2017.
- Ikoma N, Blum M, Chiang YJ, Estrella JS, Roy-Chowdhuri S, Fournier K, Mansfield P, Ajani JA, Badgwell BD. Yield of Staging Laparoscopy and Lavage Cytology for Radiologically Occult Peritoneal Carcinomatosis of Gastric Cancer. Ann Surg Oncol 23(13):4332-4337, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27384751.
- Conte B, George B, Overman M, Estrella JS, Jiang ZQ, Mehrvarz Sarshekeh A, Ferrarotto R, Hoff PM, Rashid A, Yao JC, Kopetz S, Dasari A. High-Grade Neuroendocrine Colorectal Carcinomas: A Retrospective Study of 100 Patients. Clin Colorectal Cancer 15(2):e1-7, 2016. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 26810202.
- Badgwell B, Blum M, Elimova E, Estrella J, Chiang YJ, Das P, Mansfield P, Ajani J. Frequency of Resection After Preoperative Chemotherapy or Chemoradiotherapy for Gastric Adenocarcinoma. Ann Surg Oncol 23(6):1948-55, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 26868957.
- Charalampakis N, Nogueras González GM, Elimova E, Wadhwa R, Shiozaki H, Shimodaira Y, Blum MA, Rogers JE, Harada K, Matamoros A, Sagebiel T, Das P, Minsky BD, Lee JH, Weston B, Bhutani MS, Estrella JS, Badgwell BD, Ajani JA. The Proportion of Signet Ring Cell Component in Patients with Localized Gastric Adenocarcinoma Correlates with the Degree of Response to Pre-Operative Chemoradiation. Oncology 90(5):239-47, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27046280.
- Fischer LK, Katz MH, Lee SM, Liu L, Wang H, Varadhachary GR, Wolff RA, Lee JE, Maitra A, Roland CL, Fleming JB, Estrella JS, Rashid A, Wang H. The Number and Ratio of Positive Lymph Nodes Affect Pancreatic Cancer Patient Survival after Neoadjuvant Therapy and Pancreaticoduodenectomy. Histopathology 68(2):210-20, 2016. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 25945396.
- Shiozaki H, Elimova E, Slack RS, Chen HC, Staerkel GA, Sneige N, Shimodaira Y, Sagebiel T, Lee JH, Bhutani MS, Das P, Mansfield PF, Estrella JS, Badgwell BD, Ajani JA. Prognosis of Gastric Adenocarcinoma Patients with Various Burdens of Peritoneal Metastases. J Surg Oncol 113(1):29-35, 2016. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 26603684.
- 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.
- Charalampakis N, Xiao L, Elimova E, Wadhwa R, Shiozaki H, Shimodaira Y, Blum MA, Planjery V, Rogers JE, Matamoros A, Sagebiel T, Das P, Lee JH, Bhutani MS, Weston B, Estrella JS, Badgwell BD, Ajani JA. Initial Standardized Uptake Value of Positron Emission Tomography Influences the Prognosis of Patients with Localized Gastric Adenocarcinoma Treated Preoperatively. Oncology 89(6):305-10, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 26393501.
- 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.
- Badgwell B, Blum M, Estrella JS, Chiang YJ, Das P, Matamoros A, Fournier K, Mansfield P, Ajani J. Predictors of Survival in Patients with Resectable Gastric Cancer Treated with Preoperative Chemoradiation Therapy and Gastrectomy. J Am Coll Surg 221(1):83-90, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 26002780.
- 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.
- Elimova E, Shiozaki H, Slack RS, Chen HC, Wadhwa R, Sudo K, Charalampakis N, Hiremath A, Estrella JS, Matamoros A, Sagebiel T, Das P, Rogers JE, Garris JL, Blum MA, Badgwell B, Ajani JA. Early versus Delayed Therapy of Advanced Gastric Cancer Patients - Does It Make a Difference?. Oncology 89(4):215-20, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 26159599.
- 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.
- Elimova E, Wadhwa R, Estrella JS, Sudo K, Shiozaki H, Blum MA, Chen Q, Song S, Das P, Ajani JA. Anal canal cancer: Biology and therapy. Expert Opinion on Orphan Drugs 2(2):137-146, 2014.
- 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.
- 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. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31498442.
- Mizrak Kaya D, Wang X, Harada K, Blum Murphy MA, Das P, Minsky BD, Estrella JS, Lin Q, Amlashi FG, Lee JH, Weston B, Bhutani MS, Matamoros A, Sagebiel T, Wu CC, Rogers JE, Thomas I, Maru DM, Skinner HD, Badgwell BD, Hofstetter WL, Ajani JA. 101 Long-Term Survivors Who Had Metastatic Gastroesophageal Cancer and Received Local Consolidative Therapy. Oncology. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28683449.
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: | The role of FOXP3+ Tumor infiltrating lymphocytes in EBV-positive Lymphoepithelioma-like Gastric Carcinomas |
| Funding Source: | Division of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine |
| Role: | Mentor |
| Title: | MicroRNA signature predictive of progression-free survival in stage IV pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors |
| Funding Source: | Institutional Research Grant - Clinical |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Title: | Gastric cancer immunity and immunotherapy |
| Funding Source: | UT MD Anderson Cancer Center SINF |
| Role: | Collaborator |
| Title: | MicroRNA signature predictive of progression-free survival in stage IV pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors |
| Funding Source: | Department of Pathology Faculty Seed Grant |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Title: | MicroRNA expression profile in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors |
| Funding Source: | Division of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine |
| Role: | Mentor |
| 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: | A Retrospective/Prospective Feasibility Study for Assessment of Actionable Mutations in Patients with Cancer of Unknown Primary (CUP) Using the JAX Clinical Cancer Panel |
| Funding Source: | Jackson Laboratory |
| Role: | Collaborator |
| 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 |