Maria Alejandra Zarzour, M.D.
Department of Sarcoma Medical Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Associate Professor, Department of Sarcoma Medical Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Research Interests
I serve as a Master Clinician within my department and my focus is on patient care and expertise in treating patients with sarcoma. I am not the lead on any active research projects within my division. I do not have any ongoing research projects at this time. I am a collaborator on all open protocols within my department. When my schedule allows, I do look forward to investing time in a project that will impact the care of sarcomas. I have training in Clinical Safety and Effectiveness and hope to one day incorporate this into a meaningful project for patient care.
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2006 | University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA, MD, Internal Medicine |
| 2000 | Rice University, Houston, TX, USA, BS, Biology |
Postgraduate Training
| 2010-2013 | Clinical Fellowship, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX |
| 2009-2010 | Chief Resident, Internal Medicine, University of Texas Medical School, Houston, TX |
| 2006-2009 | Clinical Residency, Internal Medicine, University of Texas Medical School, Houston, TX |
Board Certifications
| 2013 | Medical Oncology |
| 2010 | Internal Medicine |
Experience & Service
Academic Appointments
Assistant Professor, Department of Sarcoma Medical Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2013 - 2020
Clinical Specialist, Department of General Internal Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2010 - 2013
Instructor, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2009 - 2010
Honors & Awards
| 2010 | Herbert L. Fred Award |
| 2007 | Outstanding Intern of the Year Award, Department of Internal Medicine, UT Medical School at Houston |
Professional Memberships
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Moyers JT, Pestana RC, Roszik J, Hong DS, Naing A, Fu S, Piha-Paul S, Yap TA, Karp D, Rodon J, Livingston A, Zarzour MA, Ravi V, Patel S, Benjamin RS, Ludwig J, Herzog C, Ratan R, Somaiah N, Conley A, Gorlick R, Meric-Bernstam F, Subbiah V. Examining Stripes on a Herd of Zebras: Impact of Genomic Matching for Ultrarare Sarcomas in Phase 1 Clinical Trials (SAMBA 102). Clin Cancer Res 29(2):401-409, 2023. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 36288393.
- Somaiah N, Conley AP, Parra ER, Lin H, Amini B, Solis Soto L, Salazar R, Barreto C, Chen H, Gite S, Haymaker C, Nassif EF, Bernatchez C, Mitra A, Livingston JA, Ravi V, Araujo DM, Benjamin R, Patel S, Zarzour MA, Sabir S, Lazar AJ, Wang WL, Daw NC, Zhou X, Roland CL, Cooper ZA, Rodriguez-Canales J, Futreal A, Soria JC, Wistuba II, Hwu P. Durvalumab plus tremelimumab in advanced or metastatic soft tissue and bone sarcomas: a single-centre phase 2 trial. Lancet Oncol 23(9):1156-1166, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35934010.
- Thirasastr P, Lin H, Amini B, Wang WL, Cloutier JM, Nassif EF, Keung EZ, Roland CL, Feig B, Araujo D, Benjamin RS, Conley AP, Livingston JA, Ludwig J, Patel S, Ratan R, Ravi V, Zarzour MA, Zhou X, Somaiah N. Retrospective evaluation of the role of gemcitabine-docetaxel in well-differentiated and dedifferentiated liposarcoma. Cancer Med. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 36151848.
- Nassif EF, Cope B, Traweek R, Witt RG, Erstad DJ, Scally CP, Thirasastr P, Zarzour MA, Ludwig J, Benjamin R, Bishop AJ, Guadagnolo BA, Ingram D, Wani K, Wang WL, Lazar AJ, Torres KE, Hunt KK, Feig BW, Roland CL, Somaiah N, Keung EZ. Real-World Use of Palbociclib Monotherapy in Retroperitoneal Liposarcomas at a Large Volume Sarcoma Center. Int J Cancer 150(12):2012-2024, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35128664.
- Lazcano R, Barreto CM, Salazar R, Carapeto F, Traweek RS, Leung CH, Gite S, Mehta J, Ingram DR, Wani KM, Vu KT, Parra ER, Lu W, Zhou J, Witt RG, Cope B, Thirasastr P, Lin HY, Scally CP, Conley AP, Ratan R, Livingston JA, Zarzour AM, Ludwig J, Araujo D, Ravi V, Patel S, Benjamin R, Wargo J, Wistuba II, Somaiah N, Roland CL, Keung EZ, Solis L, Wang WL, Lazar AJ, Nassif EF. The immune landscape of undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma. Front Oncol 12:1008484, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 36313661.
- Parkes A, Wang WL, Patel S, Leung CH, Lin H, Conley AP, Somaiah N, Araujo DM, Zarzour M, Livingston JA, Ludwig J, Roland CL, Ravi V, Benjamin RS, Ratan R. Outcomes of systemic therapy in metastatic phyllodes tumor of the breast. Breast Cancer Res Treat 186(3):871-882, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33575859.
- Bishop AJ, Landry JP, Roland CL, Ratan R, Feig BW, Moon BS, Zarzour MA, Wang WL, Lazar AJ, Lewis VO, Torres KE, Guadagnolo BA. Certain risk factors for patients with desmoid tumors warrant reconsideration of local therapy strategies. Cancer 126(14):3265-3273, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32343846.
- Groisberg R, Roszik J, Conley AP, Lazar AJ, Portal DE, Hong DS, Naing A, Herzog CE, Somaiah N, Zarzour MA, Patel S, Brown RE, Subbiah V. Genomics, morphoproteomics, and treatment patterns of alveolar soft part sarcoma patients and response to multiple experimental therapies. Mol Cancer Ther 19(5):1165-1172, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32127467.
- Parkes A, Urquiola E, Bhosale P, Lin H, Watson K, Wang WL, Feig B, Torres K, Roland CL, Conley AP, Zarzour M, Livingston JA, Ratan R, Ludwig J, Araujo DM, Ravi V, Benjamin RS, Patel S, Somaiah N. PET/CT Imaging as a Diagnostic Tool in Distinguishing Well-Differentiated versus Dedifferentiated Liposarcoma. Sarcoma 2020:8363986, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32565716.
- Bishop AJ, Zarzour MA, Ratan R, Torres KE, Feig BW, Wang WL, Lazar AJ, Moon BS, Roland CL, Guadagnolo BA. Long-term outcomes for patients with desmoid fibromatosis treated with radiation therapy: a 10-year update and re-evaluation of the role of radiation therapy for younger patients. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 103(5):1167-1174, 2019. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 30552963.
- Wagner MJ, Gopalakrishnan V, Ravi V, Livingston JA, Conley AP, Araujo D, Somaiah N, Zarzour MA, Ratan R, Wang WL, Patel SR, Lazar A, Ludwig JA, Benjamin RS. Vincristine, Ifosfamide, and Doxorubicin for Initial Treatment of Ewing Sarcoma in Adults. Oncologist 22(10):1271-1277, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28710342.
- Schvartsman G, Wagner MJ, Amini B, Zobniw CM, Trinh VA, Barbo AG, Lin HY, Wang WL, Conley AP, Ravi V, Araujo DM, Zarzour MA, Benjamin RS, Patel S, Somaiah N. Treatment patterns, efficacy and toxicity of regorafenib in gastrointestinal stromal tumour patients. Sci Rep 7(1):9519, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28842575.
- Subbiah V, Holmes O, Gowen K, Spritz D, Amini B, Wang WL, Schrock AB, Meric-Bernstam F, Zinner R, Piha-Paul S, Zarzour M, Elvin JA, Erlich RL, Stockman DL, Vergilio JA, Suh JH, Stephens PJ, Miller V, Ross JS, Ali SM. Activity of c-Met/ALK Inhibitor Crizotinib and Multi-Kinase VEGF Inhibitor Pazopanib in Metastatic Gastrointestinal Neuroectodermal Tumor Harboring EWSR1-CREB1 Fusion. Oncology 91(6):348-353, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27764830.