biography
Dr. Kazandjian received his undergraduate BA degree in Biology with distinction from Boston University (Summa cum laude) where his research interest was in viral oncogenesis. He remained at Boston University to receive his Medical Doctorate at which time his research focused on breast cancer. He was then commissioned as an officer in the US Air Force medical corps and completed an Internal Medicine residency at Wilford Hall Medical Center. After residency, Dr. Kazandjian remained on faculty as an active duty physician, attending internist, assistant professor, and conducted HIV-malignancy research on the role normal human genetic variation plays on HIV pathogenesis. After six years of active duty including a stent in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom as an intensivist, he continued his training at the NIH as a civilian and completed fellowships in Medical Oncology (NCI) and Hematology (NHLBI). His laboratory-based research involved understanding the role that long intergenic non-coding RNAs play in lung cancer. This was augmented by his clinical interest and patient care activities in lung cancer at the NCI clinic. The year following fellowship, he continued gaining oncology and clinical trial experience with the NCI multiple myeloma section.
Area of Interest
1) viral oncogenesis
2) breast cancer
3) HIV pathogenesis.
top publication
1. Blumenthal G and Kazandjian D. Precision medicine: Therapeutic successes in oncology. DIA Global Forum. 2015 Jun; 7(3):36-40.
2. Kazandjian D, Khozin S, Blumenthal G, Zhang L, Tang S, Libeg M, Kluetz P, Sridhara R, Keegan P, Pazdur R. First immunotherapy approved in lung cancer: FDA benefit-risk summary of nivolumab for patients with metastatic squamous lung cancer after platinum-based chemotherapy. JAMA Oncology (In Preparation)
3. Landgren O, Roschewski M, Mailankody S, Kwok M, Manasanch E, Bhutani M, Tageja N, Kazandjian D, Zingone A, Costello R, Burton D, Zhang D, Wu P, Carter G, Mulquin M, Zuchlinski D, Carpenter A, Cunningham S, Gounden V, Maric I, Calvo K, Braylan R, Yuan C, Maryalice Stetler-Stevenson, M, Arthur D, Lindenberg L, Kurdziel K, Choyke P, Steinberg S, Figg W, Korde N. Carfilzomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone in high-risk smoldering myeloma. JAMA Oncology (In Press, 2/2015)
4. Dosani T, Korde N, Manasanch E, Bhutani M, Tageja N, Mailankody S, Roschewski M, Kwok M, Kazandjian D, Liewehr D, Steinberg S, Maric I, Landgren O. Lymphocyte subsets in the search for immune biomarkers of myelomagenesis. (submitted, 9/2014)
5. Blumenthal GM, Karuri SW, Zhang H, Zhang L, Khozin S, Kazandjian D, Tang S, Sridhara R, Keegan P, Pazdur R. Overall response rate, progression-free survival, and overall survival with targeted and standard therapies in advanced non-small cell lung cancer: an FDA trial-level and patient-level analysis. J Clin Oncol. 2015 Mar 20;33(9):1008-14.
6. Manasanch E, Salem D, Yuan C, Tageja N, Bhutani M, Kwok M, Kazandjian D, Carter G, Steinberg S, Zuchlinski D, Mulquin M, Calvo K, Maric I, Roschewski M, Korde N, Braylan R, Landgren O, Stetler-Stevenson M. Flow cytometric sensitivity and characteristics of plasma cells in patients with multiple myeloma or its precursor disease: influence of biopsy site and anticoagulation method. Leuk Lymphoma. 2014 Oct 30:1-9.
7. Kazandjian D, Mailankody S, Korde N, Landgren O. Smoldering multiple myeloma: pathophysiologic insights, novel diagnostics, clinical risk models, and treatment strategies. Clin Adv Hematol Oncol. 2014 Sep;12(9):578-87.
8. Kazandjian D, Blumenthal GM, Chen HY, He K, Patel M, Justice R, Keegan P, Pazdur R. FDA Approval Summary: Crizotinib for the treatment of metastatic non-small cell lung cancer with anaplastic lymphoma kinase rearrangements. Oncologist. 2014 Oct;19(10):e5-11.
9. Kazandjian D and Khozin S. FDA approval of ceritinib for the treatment of ALK-positive non–small cell lung cancer. ASCO Post. 2014 Aug 15; 5(13):60-66.
10. Mathe EA, Patterson AD, Haznadar M, Manna SK, Krausz KW, Bowman ED, Shields PG, Idle JR, Smith PB, Anami K, Kazandjian D, Hatzakis E, Gonzalez FJ, Harris CC. Non-invasive urinary metabolomic profiling identifies diagnostic and prognostic markers in lung cancer. Cancer Res. 2014 Jun 15; 74(12):3259-70.
11. Akagi I, Okayama H, Schetter AJ, Robles AI, Kohno T, Bowman ED, Kazandjian D, Welsh JA, Oue N, Saito M, Miyashita M, Uchida E, Takizawa T, Takenoshita S, Skaug V, Mollerup S, Haugen A, Yokota J, Harris CC. Combination of protein coding and noncoding gene expression as a robust prognostic classifier in stage I lung adenocarcinoma. Cancer Research. 2013 Jul 1;73(13):3821-32.
12. Kulkarni H, Marconi VC, He W, Landrum ML, Okulicz JF, Delmar J, Kazandjian D, Castiblanco J, Ahuja SS, Wright EJ, Weiss RA, Clark RA, Dolan MJ, Ahuja SK. The Duffy-null state is associated with a survival advantage in leukopenic HIV-infected persons of African ancestry. Blood. 2009 Sep 24;114(13):2783-92.
13. Kazandjian D and Okulicz J. Skin Tears? American Journal of Medicine. 2006 Aug;119(8):657-9.
14. Kazandjian D, Epinat JC, Harkness DD, Petros S, Dave J, White DW, Gilmore TD: Mutant envelope residues confer a transactivation function onto N-terminal sequences of the v-Rel oncoprotein. Oncogene 2000 Feb 3;19(5):599-607.