Select Publications

IL7 in combination with radiotherapy stimulates a memory T-cell response to improve outcomes in HNSCC models. Yu J, Gadwa J, Ross RB, Knitz M, Darragh LB, Abdelazeem KNM, Beynor J, Neupert B, Nguyen A, Nguyen D, Olimpo N, Corbo S, Van Court B, D'Alessandro A, Saviola A, Karam SD. Cancer Immunol Immunother. 2024 Mar 30;73(5):90. doi: 10.1007/s00262-024-03664-y. PMID: 38554147; PMCID: PMC10981637.

Sensory nerve release of CGRP increases tumor growth in HNSCC by suppressing TILs. Darragh LB, Nguyen A, Pham TT, Idlett-Ali S, Knitz MW, Gadwa J, Bukkapatnam S, Corbo S, Olimpo NA, Nguyen D, Van Court B, Neupert B, Yu J, Ross RB, Corbisiero M, Abdelazeem KNM, Maroney SP, Galindo DC, Mukdad L, Saviola A, Joshi M, White R, Alhiyari Y, Samedi V, Van Bokhoven A, St John M, Karam SD. Med. 2024 Mar 8;5(3):254-270.e8. doi: 10.1016/j.medj.2024.02.002. Epub 2024 Feb 28. PMID: 38423011; PMCID: PMC10939743.

PPARα Agonism Enhances Immune Response to Radiotherapy while Dietary Oleic Acid Results in Counteraction. Ross RB, Gadwa J, Yu J, Darragh LB, Knitz MW, Nguyen D, Olimpo NA, Abdelazeem KNM, Nguyen A, Corbo S, Van Court B, Beynor J, Neupert B, Saviola AJ, D'Alessandro A, Karam SD. Clin Cancer Res. 2024 Feb 16. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-23-3433. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38363297.

Selective targeting of IL2Rβγ combined with radiotherapy triggers CD8- and NK-mediated immunity, abrogating metastasis in HNSCC. Gadwa J, Amann M, Bickett TE, Knitz MW, Darragh LB, Piper M, Van Court B, Bukkapatnam S, Pham TT, Wang XJ, Saviola AJ, Deak LC, Umaña P, Klein C, D'Alessandro A, Karam SD. Cell Rep Med. 2023 Aug 15;4(8):101150. doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2023.101150. PMID: 37586327; PMCID: PMC10439274.

Measurement of mouse head and neck tumors by automated analysis of CBCT images. Van Court B, Neupert B, Nguyen D, Ross R, Knitz MW, Karam SD. Sci Rep. 2023 Jul 25;13(1):12033. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-39159-6. PMID: 37491456; PMCID: PMC10368694.

Simultaneous targeting of PD-1 and IL-2Rβγ with radiation therapy inhibits pancreatic cancer growth and metastasis. Piper M, Hoen M, Darragh LB, Knitz MW, Nguyen D, Gadwa J, Durini G, Karakoc I, Grier A, Neupert B, Van Court B, Abdelazeem KNM, Yu J, Olimpo NA, Corbo S, Ross RB, Pham TT, Joshi M, Kedl RM, Saviola AJ, Amann M, Umaña P, Codarri Deak L, Klein C, D'Alessandro A, Karam SD. Cancer Cell. 2023 May 8;41(5):950-969.e6. doi: 10.1016/j.ccell.2023.04.001. Epub 2023 Apr 27. PMID: 37116489; PMCID: PMC10246400.

 

A phase I/Ib trial and biological correlate analysis of neoadjuvant SBRT with single-dose durvalumab in HPV-unrelated locally advanced HNSCC. Darragh LB, Knitz MM, Hu J, Clambey ET, Backus J, Dumit A, Samedi V, Bubak A, Greene C, Waxweiler T, Mehrotra S, Bhatia S, Gadwa J, Bickett T, Piper M, Fakhoury K, Liu A, Petit J, Bowles D, Thaker A, Atiyeh K, Goddard J, Hoyer R, Van Bokhoven A, Jordan K, Jimeno A, D'Alessandro A, Raben D, McDermott JD, Karam SD. Nat Cancer. 2022 Nov;3(11):1300-1317. doi: 10.1038/s43018-022-00450-6. PMID: 36434392; PMCID: PMC9701140.

Elective nodal irradiation mitigates local and systemic immunity generated by combination radiation and immunotherapy in head and neck tumors. Darragh LB, Gadwa J, Pham TT, Van Court B, Neupert B, Olimpo NA, Nguyen K, Nguyen D, Knitz MW, Hoen M, Corbo S, Joshi M, Zhuang Y, Amann M, Wang XJ, Dow S, Kedl RM, Samedi V, Boss MK, Karam SD Nat Commun. 2022 Nov 16;13(1):7015. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-34676-w. PMID: 36385142.

EphB4 and ephrinB2 act in opposition in the head and neck tumor microenvironment. Bhatia S, Nguyen D, Darragh LB, Van Court B, Sharma J, Knitz MW, Piper M, Bukkapatnam S, Gadwa J, Bickett TE, Bhuvane S, Corbo S, Wu B, Lee Y, Fujita M, Joshi M, Heasley LE, Ferris RL, Rodriguez O, Albanese C, Kapoor M, Pasquale EB, Karam SD. Nat Commun. 2022 Jun 20;13(1):3535. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-31124-7. PMID: 35725568; PMCID: PMC9209511.

Targeting Treg-Expressed STAT3 Enhances NK-Mediated Surveillance of Metastasis and Improves Therapeutic Response in Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma. Piper M, Van Court B, Mueller A, Watanabe S, Bickett T, Bhatia S, Darragh LB, Mayeda M, Nguyen D, Gadwa J, Knitz M, Corbo S, Morgan R, Lee JJ, Dent A, Goodman K, Messersmith W, Schulick R, Del Chiaro M, Zhu Y, Kedl RM, Lenz L, Karam SD. Clin Cancer Res. 2022 Mar 1;28(5):1013-1026. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-21-2767. PMID: 34862244; PMCID: PMC8898296.

Dichotomous Effects of Cellular Expression of STAT3 on Tumor Growth of HNSCC. Bickett TE, Knitz MW, Piper M, Oweida AJ, Gadwa J, Darragh LB, Nguyen D, Bhatia S, Bhuvane S, Phan AV, Van Court B, Corbo S, Pham T, Dent AL, Lenz L, Karam SD. Mol Ther. 2021 Nov 15:S1525-0016(21)00582-7. doi: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2021.11.011. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34793974.

Amateur antigen-presenting cells in the tumor microenvironment. Darragh LB, Karam SD. Mol Carcinog. 2021 Sep 27. doi: 10.1002/mc.23354. PMID: 34570920.

Loss of cancer cell STAT1 improves response to radiation therapy and promotes T cell activation in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Knitz MW, Darragh LB, Bickett TE, Bhatia S, Bukkapatnam S, Gadwa J, Piper M, Corbo S, Nguyen D, Van Court B, Oweida A, Karam SD. Cancer Immunol Immunother. 2021 Sep 24. doi: 10.1007/s00262-021-03059-3. PMID: 34559306.

FLT3L Release by Natural Killer Cells Enhances Response to Radioimmunotherapy in Preclinical Models of HNSCC. Bickett TE, Knitz M, Darragh LB, Bhatia S, Van Court B, Gadwa J, Bhuvane S, Piper M, Nguyen D, Tu H, Lenz L, Clambey ET, Barry K, Karam SD. Clin Cancer Res. 2021 Sep 13. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-21-0971. PMID: 34518311.

Targeting resistance to radiation-immunotherapy in cold HNSCCs by modulating the Treg-dendritic cell axis. Knitz MW, Bickett TE, Darragh LB, Oweida AJ, Bhatia S, Van Court B, Bhuvane S, Piper M, Gadwa J, Mueller AC, Nguyen D, Nangia V, Osborne DG, Bai X, Ferrara SE, Boss MK, Goodspeed A, Burchill MA, Tamburini BAJ, Chan ED, Pickering CR, Clambey ET, Karam SD. J Immunother Cancer. 2021 Apr;9(4):e001955. doi: 10.1136/jitc-2020-001955. PMID: 33883256; PMCID: PMC8061827.

Complement C3a and C5a receptor blockade modulates regulatory T cell conversion in head and neck cancer. Gadwa J, Bickett TE, Darragh LB, Knitz MW, Bhatia S, Piper M, Van Court B, Bhuvane S, Nguyen D, Nangia V, Kleczko EK, Nemenoff RA, Karam SD. J Immunother Cancer. 2021 Mar;9(3):e002585. doi: 10.1136/jitc-2021-002585. PMID: 33789881.

Induction of ADAM10 by RT drives fibrosis, resistance, and EMT in pancreatic cancer. Mueller AC, Piper M, Goodspeed A, Bhuvane S, Williams JS, Bhatia S, Phan AV, Van Court B, Zolman KL, Peña B, Oweida AJ, Zakem S, Meguid C, Knitz MW, Darragh L, Bickett TE, Gadwa J, Mestroni L, Taylor MRG, Jordan KR, Dempsey P, Lucia MS, McCarter MD, Del Chiaro M, Messersmith WA, Schulick RD, Goodman KA, Gough MJ, Greene CS, Costello JC, Galvao Neto A, Lagares D, Hansen KC, Van Bokhoven A, Karam SD. Cancer Res. 2021 Feb 1:canres.CAN-20-3892-A.2020. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-20-3892. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33526513.

Response to radiotherapy in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is enhanced by inhibition of myeloid-derived suppressor cells using STAT3 anti-sense oligonucleotide. Oweida AJ, Mueller AC, Piper M, Milner D, Van Court B, Bhatia S, Phan A, Bickett T, Jordan K, Proia T, Schulick R, Messersmith WA, Del Chiaro M, Clambey E, Gough MJ, Williams J, Hansen K, Goodman K, Karam SD. Cancer Immunol Immunother. 2020 Oct 23. doi: 10.1007/s00262-020-02701-w. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33097963.

Tuberculosis-Cancer Parallels in Immune Response Regulation. Bickett TE, Karam SD. Int J Mol Sci. 2020 Aug 26;21(17):6136. doi: 10.3390/ijms21176136. PMID: 32858811; PMCID: PMC7503600.

Deciphering the Intricate Roles of Radiation Therapy and Complement Activation in Cancer. Gadwa J, Karam SD. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2020 Jul 3:S0360-3016(20)31366-3. doi: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2020.06.067. PMID: 32629082.

The effects of ephrinB2 signaling on proliferation and invasion in glioblastoma multiforme. Bhatia S, Bukkapatnam S, Van Court B, Phan A, Oweida A, Gadwa J, Mueller AC, Piper M, Darragh L, Nguyen D, Gilani A, Knitz M, Bickett T, Green A, Venkataraman S, Vibhakar R, Cittelly D, Karam SD. Mol Carcinog. 2020 Jun 22. doi: 10.1002/mc.23237. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 32567728.

The interplay between cancer associated fibroblasts and immune cells in the context of radiation therapy. Piper M, Mueller AC, Karam SD. Mol Carcinog. 2020 Jul;59(7):754-765. doi: 10.1002/mc.23205. Epub 2020 May 4. PMID: 32363633.

Intramucosal Inoculation of Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cells in Mice for Tumor Immune Profiling and Treatment Response Assessment. Oweida AJ, Bhatia S, Van Court B, Darragh L, Serkova N, Karam SD. J Vis Exp. 2019 Apr 22;(146):10.3791/59195. doi: 10.3791/59195. PMID: 31058896; PMCID: PMC6659716.

Pancreatic Tumor Microenvironment Modulation by EphB4-ephrinB2 Inhibition and Radiation Combination. Lennon S, Oweida A, Milner D, Phan AV, Bhatia S, Van Court B, Darragh L, Mueller AC, Raben D, Martínez-Torrecuadrada JL, Pitts TM, Somerset H, Jordan KR, Hansen KC, Williams J, Messersmith WA, Schulick RD, Owens P, Goodman KA, Karam SD. Clin Cancer Res. 2019 Jun 1;25(11):3352-3365. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-18-2811. Epub 2019 Apr 3. PMID: 30944125; PMCID: PMC6548606.

Inhibition of EphB4-Ephrin-B2 Signaling Reprograms the Tumor Immune Microenvironment in Head and Neck Cancers. Bhatia S, Oweida A, Lennon S, Darragh LB, Milner D, Phan AV, Mueller AC, Van Court B, Raben D, Serkova NJ, Wang XJ, Jimeno A, Clambey ET, Pasquale EB, Karam SD. Cancer Res. 2019 May 15;79(10):2722-2735. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-18-3257. Epub 2019 Mar 20. PMID: 30894369; PMCID: PMC6522285.

STAT3 Modulation of Regulatory T Cells in Response to Radiation Therapy in Head and Neck Cancer. Oweida AJ, Darragh L, Phan A, Binder D, Bhatia S, Mueller A, Court BV, Milner D, Raben D, Woessner R, Heasley L, Nemenoff R, Clambey E, Karam SD. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2019 Dec 1;111(12):1339-1349. doi: 10.1093/jnci/djz036. PMID: 30863843; PMCID: PMC6910208.

Overcoming Resistance to Combination Radiation-Immunotherapy: A Focus on Contributing Pathways Within the Tumor Microenvironment. Darragh LB, Oweida AJ, Karam SD. Front Immunol. 2019 Jan 31;9:3154. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2018.03154. PMID: 30766539; PMCID: PMC6366147.

Resistance to Radiotherapy and PD-L1 Blockade Is Mediated by TIM-3 Upregulation and Regulatory T-Cell Infiltration. Oweida A, Hararah MK, Phan A, Binder D, Bhatia S, Lennon S, Bukkapatnam S, Van Court B, Uyanga N, Darragh L, Kim HM, Raben D, Tan AC, Heasley L, Clambey E, Nemenoff R, Karam SD. Clin Cancer Res. 2018 Nov 1;24(21):5368-5380. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-18-1038. Epub 2018 Jul 24. PMID: 30042205; PMCID: PMC6886391.

Role of EphB3 Receptor in Mediating Head and Neck Tumor Growth, Cell Migration, and Response to PI3K Inhibitor. Bhatia S, Griego A, Lennon S, Oweida A, Sharma J, Rohmer C, Uyanga N, Bukkapatnam S, Van Court B, Raben D, Young C, Heasley L, Karam SD. Mol Cancer Ther. 2018 Sep;17(9):2049-2059. doi: 10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-17-1163. Epub 2018 Jul 3. PMID: 29970482; PMCID: PMC6238629.

Inhibition of EphB4-Ephrin-B2 Signaling Enhances Response to Cetuximab-Radiation Therapy in Head and Neck Cancers. Bhatia S, Sharma J, Bukkapatnam S, Oweida A, Lennon S, Phan A, Milner D, Uyanga N, Jimeno A, Raben D, Somerset H, Heasley L, Karam SD. Clin Cancer Res. 2018 Sep 15;24(18):4539-4550. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-18-0327. Epub 2018 May 30. PMID: 29848571; PMCID: PMC6886390.

Ionizing radiation sensitizes tumors to PD-L1 immune checkpoint blockade in orthotopic murine head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Oweida A, Lennon S, Calame D, Korpela S, Bhatia S, Sharma J, Graham C, Binder D, Serkova N, Raben D, Heasley L, Clambey E, Nemenoff R, Karam SD. Oncoimmunology. 2017 Aug 3;6(10):e1356153. doi: 10.1080/2162402X.2017.1356153. PMID: 29123967; PMCID: PMC5665079.

Combined EphB2 receptor knockdown with radiation decreases cell viability and invasion in medulloblastoma. Bhatia S, Hirsch K, Sharma J, Oweida A, Griego A, Keysar S, Jimeno A, Raben D, Krasnoperov V, Gill PS, Pasquale EB, Wang XJ, Karam SD.  Cancer Cell Int. 2017 Mar 29;17:41. doi: 10.1186/s12935-017-0409-7. PMID: 28360821; PMCID: PMC5371267.

Enhancing radiosensitization in EphB4 receptor-expressing Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinomas. Bhatia S, Hirsch K, Sharma J, Oweida A, Griego A, Keysar S, Jimeno A, Raben D, Krasnoperov V, Gill PS, Pasquale EB, Wang XJ, Karam SD. Sci Rep. 2016 Dec 12;6:38792. doi: 10.1038/srep38792. PMID: 27941840; PMCID: PMC5150255.

Ephrin-B2 overexpression predicts for poor prognosis and response to therapy in solid tumors. Oweida A, Bhatia S, Hirsch K, Calame D, Griego A, Keysar S, Pitts T, Sharma J, Eckhardt G, Jimeno A, Wang XJ, Parkash G, Califano J, Karam SD. Mol Carcinog. 2017 Mar;56(3):1189-1196. doi: 10.1002/mc.22574. Epub 2016 Nov 1. PMID: 27649287; PMCID: PMC5939940.

Effects of altered ephrin-A5 and EphA4/EphA7 expression on tumor growth in a medulloblastoma mouse model. Bhatia S, Hirsch K, Baig NA, Rodriguez O, Timofeeva O, Kavanagh K, Lee YC, Wang XJ, Albanese C, Karam SD. J Hematol Oncol. 2015 Sep 7;8:105. doi: 10.1186/s13045-015-0202-9. PMID: 26345456; PMCID: PMC4561476.

Knockdown of EphB1 receptor decreases medulloblastoma cell growth and migration and increases cellular radiosensitization. Bhatia S, Baig NA, Timofeeva O, Pasquale EB, Hirsch K, MacDonald TJ, Dritschilo A, Lee YC, Henkemeyer M, Rood B, Jung M, Wang XJ, Kool M, Rodriguez O, Albanese C, Karam SD.Oncotarget. 2015 Apr 20;6(11):8929-46. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.3369. PMID: 25879388; PMCID: PMC4496193.