Research Summary

The overarching goal of my research is to improve treatment options and outcomes in patients with primary cancers of the liver and bile ducts through clinical and translational research of novel drugs and combinations along with biomarker analyses to identify the patients most likely to respond. My current work in hepatobiliary cancers includes leading multiple clinical trials of new immunotherapy treatment combinations, ranging from large, international phase 3 trials to smaller, investigator-initiated institutional trials with translational biomarker endpoints. I am also the PI of the UCSF Hepatobiliary Tissue Bank and Registry (HBTBR), initiated in 2012 to serve as a platform for translational and epidemiology research using fresh and archival tumor tissue samples, blood samples, and longitudinal clinical data from patients with hepatobiliary cancers who receive cancer care at UCSF. The HBTBR has enrolled over 500 cases since its activation in late 2012 and has contributed samples and data to multiple projects, including the NCI/NHGRI The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) liver and cholangiocarcinoma cohorts, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in HCC and cholangiocarcinoma, a University of California consortium project to develop minority patient-derived xenografts including hepatocellular carcinoma for tumor genomic analyses, the NCI's National Translational Science Network of Precision-Based Immunotherapy for Primary Liver Cancer, and many collaborative, retrospective studies of clinical outcomes.

Education

Harvard College, Boston, MA, B.A., 1993-97, Biochemistry
UCLA, M.D., 1998-2002, Medicine
UCLA, Intern, 2002-03, Medicine
UCLA, Resident, 2003-05, Medicine
UCLA, Chief Resident, 2005-06, Medicine
UCSF, Fellow, 2006-09, Hematology/Oncology

Honors & Awards

  • 1993-1997
    Harvard College Scholarship, Harvard College
  • 1993-1997
    Elizabeth Cary Agassiz Merit Award, Harvard College
  • 1997-1998
    Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship, Costa Rica
  • 2001
    Alpha Omega Alpha, UCLA School of Medicine
  • 2001
    Merck Book Award, UCLA School of Medicine
  • 2001
    Janet M. Glascow Memorial Achievement Citation, American Medical Women's Association
  • 2004, 2006
    Solomon Scholars Resident Research Day Award, UCLA Department of Medicine
  • 2006
    Medical Student Teaching Award, UCLA Department of Medicine
  • 2009
    ASCO Cancer Foundation Merit Award, Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium
  • 2010
    ASCO Young Investigator Award
  • 2014
    Cancer Clinical Investigator Team Leadership Award from the National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Selected Publications

  1. Montoya T, Lee JV, Qiu L, Krall A, Matulionis N, Seo Y, Finck BN, Kelley RK, Christofk H, Goga A Alanine catabolism as a targetable vulnerability for MYC-driven liver cancer.  View on PubMed
  2. Li M, Kelley RK Immunotherapy and cirrhosis - expanding Child-Pugh boundaries in liver cancer.  View on PubMed
  3. Chan SL, Sun HC, Xu Y, Zeng H, El-Serag HB, Lee JM, Schwartz ME, Finn RS, Seong J, Wang XW, Paradis V, Abou-Alfa GK, Rimassa L, Kao JH, Zhang BH, Llovet JM, Bruix J, Yip TC, Wong VW, Wong GL, Chan LL, Liu MQ, Gao Q, Shen F, Kelley RK, Cheng AL, Kurosaki M, Toyoda H, Chen WX, Murakami T, Liang P, Zucman-Rossi J, Minami Y, Miyayama S, Wang K, Man K, Hasegawa K, Li Q, Tsuchiya K, Xu L, Chew V, Chow P, Hoshida Y, Lujambio A, Ng IO, Sakamoto M, Park YN, Yau T, Kudo M, Fan J, Zhou J The Lancet Commission on addressing the global hepatocellular carcinoma burden: comprehensive strategies from prevention to treatment.  View on PubMed
  4. Lau G, Sangro B, Cheng AL, Kudo M, Kelley RK, Tak WY, Gasbarrini A, Reig M, Lim HY, Tougeron D, De Toni EN, Tam VC, Mody K, Gong J, Crysler OV, Sukeepaisarnjaroen W, Lipatov O, Morimoto M, Archambeaud I, Burgio V, Phuong LTT, Chao Y, Peron JM, Berres ML, Ko YJ, Ran D, Makowsky M, Negro A, Abou-Alfa GK Immune-mediated adverse events and overall survival with tremelimumab plus durvalumab and durvalumab monotherapy in unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma: HIMALAYA phase 3 randomized clinical trial.  View on PubMed
  5. Vijay V, Karisani N, Shi L, Hung YH, Vu P, Kattel P, Kenney L, Merritt J, Adil R, Wu Q, Zhen Y, Morris R, Kreuzer J, Kathiresan M, Herrera Lopez XI, Ellis H, Gritti I, Lecorgne L, Farag I, Popa A, Shen W, Kato H, Xu Q, Balasooriya ER, Wu MJ, Wan J, Kondo H, Chaturantabut S, Raghavan S, Hall MD, Patnaik S, Shen M, Kelley RK, Cleary JM, Lawrence MS, Root DE, Patra KC, Silveira VS, Benes CH, Deshpande V, Juric D, Sellers WR, Ferrone CR, Haas W, Vazquez F, Getz G, Bardeesy N Generation of a biliary tract cancer cell line atlas identifies molecular subtypes and therapeutic targets.  View on PubMed
  6. Rimassa L, Chan SL, Sangro B, Lau G, Kudo M, Reig M, Breder V, Ryu MH, Ostapenko Y, Sukeepaisarnjaroen W, Varela M, Tougeron D, Crysler OV, Bouattour M, Van Dao T, Tam VC, Faccio A, Furuse J, Jeng LB, Kang YK, Kelley RK, Paskow MJ, Ran D, Xynos I, Kurland JF, Negro A, Abou-Alfa GK Five-year overall survival update from the HIMALAYA study of tremelimumab plus durvalumab in unresectable HCC.  View on PubMed
  7. Yoo C, Ueno M, Klümpen HJ, Kelley RK, Vogel A, Furuse J, Ren Z, Yau T, Chan SL, Ozaka M, Oh SC, Gu S, Park JO, Valle JW, Edeline J, Kim JG, Kamble S, Norquist JM, Yu L, Malhotra U, Finn RS Health-related quality of life in participants with advanced biliary tract cancer from the randomized phase III KEYNOTE-966 study.  View on PubMed
  8. Turnham RE, Pitea A, Jang GM, Xu Z, Lim HC, Choi AL, Von Dollen J, Levin RS, Webber JT, McCarthy E, Hu J, Li X, Che L, Singh A, Yoon A, Chan GKL, Kelley RK, Swaney DL, Zhang W, Bandyopadhyay S, Theis FJ, Eckhardt M, Chen X, Shokat KM, Ideker T, Krogan NJ, Gordan JD. HBV Remodels PP2A Complexes to Rewire Kinase Signaling in Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Cancer Res. 2025 Feb 17; 85(4):660-674.  View on PubMed
  9. Singal AG, Reddy KR, Colombo M, Morris HL, Mospan AR, Cabrera R, Kelley RK, Kilpatrick RD, Trevisani F, Farinati F, Giannini EG, Mehta N, Fried MW, Sangro B, DAA-PASS and ITA.LI.CA Investigators. DAA-PASS: A Prospective Evaluation of HCC Recurrence After Direct Acting Antiviral Therapy. J Viral Hepat. 2025 Feb; 32(2):e14056.  View on PubMed
  10. Kassaye I, Alyafaie A, Zhang K, Lifton J, Gordan JD, Kelley RK, Yung M. Cataracts Associated With Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor Inhibitors for Cholangiocarcinoma. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2024 Dec 01; 142(12):1109-1113.  View on PubMed
  11. Li M, Hannan LM, Goyal L, Bocobo AG, Parks AL, Bauer K, Baiev I, Dinicola C, Gordan JD, Venook AP, Harris WP, Bracci P, Kelley RK. Changes in alpha-fetoprotein across the systemic therapy continuum in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma-a real-world, multicenter study. Ther Adv Med Oncol. 2024; 16:17588359241297085.  View on PubMed
  12. Zeme EL, Van Loon K, Kelley RK, Gordan JD. Emerging Therapies for the Management of Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2-/ERBB2-Altered Advanced Biliary Tract Cancers. J Clin Oncol. 2024 Sep 20; 42(27):3170-3176.  View on PubMed
  13. Lau G, Abou-Alfa GK, Cheng AL, Sukeepaisarnjaroen W, Van Dao T, Kang YK, Thungappa SC, Kudo M, Sangro B, Kelley RK, Furuse J, Park JW, Sunpaweravong P, Fasolo A, Yau T, Kawaoka T, Azevedo S, Reig M, Assenat E, Yarchoan M, He AR, Makowsky M, Gupta C, Negro A, Chan SL. Outcomes in the Asian subgroup of the phase III randomised HIMALAYA study of tremelimumab plus durvalumab in unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma. J Hepatol. 2025 Feb; 82(2):258-267.  View on PubMed
  14. Vijay V, Karisani N, Shi L, Hung YH, Vu P, Kattel P, Kenney L, Merritt J, Adil R, Wu Q, Zhen Y, Morris R, Kreuzer J, Kathiresan M, Herrera Lopez XI, Ellis H, Gritti I, Lecorgne L, Farag I, Popa A, Shen W, Kato H, Xu Q, Balasooriya ER, Wu MJ, Chaturantabut S, Kelley RK, Cleary JM, Lawrence MS, Root D, Benes CH, Deshpande V, Juric D, Sellers WR, Ferrone CR, Haas W, Vazquez F, Getz G, Bardeesy N. Generation of a biliary tract cancer cell line atlas reveals molecular subtypes and therapeutic targets. bioRxiv. 2024 Jul 08.  View on PubMed
  15. Hsu BY, Driscoll J, Human Cholangiocarcinogenesis Project, Tateno C, Mattis AN, Kelley RK, Willenbring H. Human Hepatocytes Can Give Rise to Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinomas. Gastroenterology. 2024 Oct; 167(5):1029-1032.e7.  View on PubMed
  16. Azad N, Hu Z, Sahin I, Iyer R, Aranha O, Hochster H, Pathak P, Paulson AS, Kalyan A, Liao CY, Tran N, Kelley RK, Heestand G, Cosgrove D, El-Khoueiry A, Borad M, Gabrail NY, Majeed U, Du L, Kamath S, Shumway N, Shroff R, Goyal L, Rosales M, Javle M. COMPANION-002 A clinical trial of investigational drug CTX-009 plus paclitaxel vs paclitaxel in second line advanced BTC. Future Oncol. 2024; 20(30):2241-2248.  View on PubMed
  17. Kline B, Yadav S, Seo Y, Ippisch RC, Castillo J, Aggarwal RR, Kelley RK, Behr SC, Flavell RR, Lawhn-Heath C, Melisko M, Rugo HS, Wang V, Yom SS, Ha P, Jiang F, Hope TA. 68Ga-FAP-2286 PET of Solid Tumors: Biodistribution, Dosimetry, and Comparison with 18F-FDG. J Nucl Med. 2024 Jun 03; 65(6):938-943.  View on PubMed
  18. Tsang ES, Dhawan MS, Pacaud R, Thomas S, Grabowsky J, Wilch L, Karipineni S, Kelley RK, Ko AH, Collisson E, Chapman JS, Ueda S, Bergsland EK, Munster P. Synthetic Lethality Beyond BRCA: A Phase I Study of Rucaparib and Irinotecan in Metastatic Solid Tumors With Homologous Recombination-Deficiency Mutations Beyond BRCA1/2. JCO Precis Oncol. 2024 Jun; 8:e2300494.  View on PubMed
  19. Sangro B, Galle PR, Kelley RK, Charoentum C, De Toni EN, Ostapenko Y, Heo J, Cheng AL, Wilson Woods A, Gupta C, Abraham J, McCoy CL, Patel N, Negro A, Vogel A, Abou-Alfa GK. Patient-Reported Outcomes From the Phase III HIMALAYA Study of Tremelimumab Plus Durvalumab in Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma. J Clin Oncol. 2024 Aug 10; 42(23):2790-2799.  View on PubMed
  20. Reig M, Forner A, Rimola J, Ferrer-Fàbrega J, Burrel M, Garcia-Criado Á, Kelley RK, Galle PR, Mazzaferro V, Salem R, Sangro B, Singal AG, Vogel A, Fuster J, Ayuso C, Bruix J. Evidence and choice: The BCLC vision for tailoring clinical decision-making. J Hepatol. 2024 Oct; 81(4):e176-e177.  View on PubMed

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