Research Summary

Dr. Eric Nakakura is a gastrointestinal cancer surgeon who specializes in tumors of the pancreas, bile ducts, liver, and GI tract. He also treats soft tissue sarcomas, including tumors of the retroperitoneum, trunk and extremities. Dr. Nakakura is a leading authority on neuroendocrine carcinoid tumors of the gastrointestinal tract and pancreas. In 2017, he was awarded a $1.2m grant from the Neuroendocrine Tumor Research Foundation (NETRF) to elucidate the causes of small intestinal neuroendocrine tumors (SI-NETs).

Dr. Nakakura earned a medical degree at Stanford Medical School and a doctorate degree in cellular and molecular medicine at the Johns Hopkins University. He completed a residency in general surgery at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions and was a specialist registrar in surgery at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, England. He also completed a fellowship in surgical oncology at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions.

Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) of the small intestine and pancreas frequently spread throughout the body (i.e., metastasize). Surgery is often not possible for patients with advanced disease, and current therapies are ineffective for shrinking tumors and durable palliation of debilitating symptoms, often caused by the release of hormones into the blood. Dr. Nakakura and his colleagues' long-term goal is to find the causes of NETs of the small intestine and pancreas, which can lead to earlier diagnosis and ultimately a cure.

Education

University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, BS, 1990, Bioengineering-Premedic
Stanford Medical School, Stanford, CA, MD, 1995, Medicine
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, PhD, 2001, Cellular/Molecular Medicine

Honors & Awards

  • 1988
    Phi Beta Kappa, University of California, San Diego
  • 1990
    Magna Cum Laude, University of California, San Diego
  • 1991
    Stanford Medical Student Scholars Program Research Fellow
  • 1992
    International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation Poster Award Recipient
  • 1992
    American Heart Association Medical Student Research Fellow
  • 2000
    George D. Zuidema Award for Laboratory Research, Department of Surgery, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
  • 2003
    John L. Cameron Technical Excellence Award, Department of Surgery, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
  • 2007
    Excellence in Teaching Award, Department of Surgery, University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine
  • 2009
    Excellence in Teaching Award, The Haile T. Debas Academy of Medical Educators Memberships

Selected Publications

  1. Ashraf A, Wang J, Hernandez S, Foroutani L, Hernandez FR, Hirose K, Nakakura E, Corvera C, Alseidi A, Adam MA. ASO Visual Abstract: Re-evaluating the Role of Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Early-Stage Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: Unveiling the Impact of Immortal Time Bias on Survival. Ann Surg Oncol. 2026 Aug; 33(8):7554. View on PubMed
  2. Elmankabadi S, Ashraf AG, Foroutani L, Li TM, Corvera C, Hirose K, Kirkwood K, Nakakura E, Alseidi A, Adam M. Impact of adjuvant chemotherapy among pathologic complete responders with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Eur J Surg Oncol. 2026 08; 52(8):111955. View on PubMed
  3. Foroutani L, Mascagni P, Ganjouei AA, Fotoohi N, Nakakura EK, Corvera C, Adam MA, Alseidi AA. Video-based assessment identifies intraoperative predictors of clinically relevant POPF following minimally invasive distal pancreatectomy. Surg Endosc. 2026 Jun; 40(6):4819-4826. View on PubMed
  4. Ashraf Ganjouei A, Wang J, Hernandez S, Foroutani L, Hernandez FR, Hirose K, Nakakura E, Corvera C, Alseidi A, Adam MA. Re-evaluating the Role of Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Early-Stage Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: Unveiling the Impact of Immortal Time Bias on Survival. Ann Surg Oncol. 2026 Aug; 33(8):7520-7526. View on PubMed
  5. Yogo A, Akanuma N, Kim GE, Mäkinen N, Thirlwell C, Nakakura EK. Spatial Transcriptomics Reveals Location-Specific Tumor Cell Subtypes and Signaling within Multifocal Small Intestinal Neuroendocrine Tumors. Clin Cancer Res. 2026 May 15; 32(10):2098-2109. View on PubMed
  6. Foroutani L, Wang JJ, Kiran S, Yin H, Myszewski J, Ali S, Ganjouei AA, Hirose K, Corvera C, Nakakura E, Alseidi A, Adam MA. ASO Visual Abstract: True Incidence of Appendiceal Neoplasms in Patients Presenting with Complicated Appendicitis: A Call for a Revised Management Algorithm. Ann Surg Oncol. 2026 May; 33(5):4180-4181. View on PubMed
  7. Yogo A, Akanuma N, Kim GE, Paciorek A, Zhang L, Le P, Hirose K, Corvera CU, Bergsland EK, Nakakura EK. Characterization of small intestinal neuroendocrine tumorlets. Endocr Relat Cancer. 2026 04 01; 33(4). View on PubMed
  8. Foroutani L, Wang JJ, Kiran S, Yin H, Myszewski J, Ali S, Ashraf Ganjouei A, Hirose K, Corvera C, Nakakura E, Alseidi A, Adam MA. True Incidence of Appendiceal Neoplasms in Patients Presenting with Complicated Appendicitis: A Call for a Revised Management Algorithm. Ann Surg Oncol. 2026 May; 33(5):4161-4168. View on PubMed
  9. Foroutani L, Gonzalez A, Wang JJ, Aburayya BI, Ganjouei AA, Feng J, Thornblade LW, Hirose K, Maker AV, Nakakura E, Corvera CU, Alseidi A, Adam MA. Minimally Invasive Distal Pancreatectomy as the Standard of Care in the US: Are We There Yet? Cancers (Basel). 2025 Sep 16; 17(18). View on PubMed
  10. Lee IT, Dohlman A, Gao T, Zhang Z, Kasai Y, Kim GE, Thirlwell C, Nakakura E, Meyerson M, Mäkinen N. Characterization of tumor-associated microbiome in multifocal small intestinal neuroendocrine tumors (SI-NETs). ESMO Gastrointest Oncol. 2025 Sep; 9:100229. View on PubMed
  11. Wong P, Todeschini L, Pollini T, Hernandez S, Zampese M, Aguilar LL, Peng JS, Thornblade LW, Adam MA, Alseidi A, Corvera CU, Hirose K, Kirkwood KS, Nakakura EK, Maker AV. Minimally Invasive Versus Open Resection for Solid Pseudopapillary Tumors of the Pancreas: A Propensity Score-Matched Analysis. J Surg Oncol. 2025 Sep; 132(4):676-683. View on PubMed
  12. Yin H, Sharma D, Wang JJ, Ganjouei AA, Kouanda A, Hirose K, Nakakura E, Kirkwood K, Corvera C, Alseidi A, Adam MA. Robotic-assisted trans-mesocolic side-to-side duodenojejunostomy for palliative management of malignant distal duodenal obstruction. Chin Clin Oncol. 2025 Feb; 14(1):5. View on PubMed
  13. Wang SJ, Kidder W, Joseph NM, Le BK, Lindsay S, Moon F, Nakakura EK, Zhang L, Bergsland EK. Factors associated with grade progression in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. Endocr Relat Cancer. 2025 03 01; 32(3). View on PubMed
  14. Ejie J, Ashraf Ganjouei A, Hernandez S, Wang JJ, Romero-Hernandez F, Foroutani L, Hirose K, Nakakura E, Corvera CU, Alseidi A, Adam MA. Ongoing Failure to Deliver Guideline-Concordant Care for Patients with Pancreatic Cancer. Cancers (Basel). 2025 Jan 07; 17(2). View on PubMed
  15. Yin H, Romero-Hernandez F, Ganjouei AA, Wang JJ, Brown A, Hirose K, Maker AV, Nakakura E, Corvera C, Kirkwood KS, Wilhelm A, Peng JS, Alseidi A, Adam MA. Adult Pancreatoblastoma: Clinical Insights and Outcomes Compared to Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Curr Oncol. 2024 08 28; 31(9):5008-5020. View on PubMed
  16. Hoffman D, Ganjouei AA, Hernandez FR, Ifuku K, Miller P, Glencer A, Corvera C, Kirkwood K, Alseidi A, Adam M, Maker A, Hirose K, Hirose R, Nakakura EK. Graft choice in pancreatectomy with vascular resection: equivalent safety in selected patients. J Gastrointest Surg. 2024 11; 28(11):1799-1804. View on PubMed
  17. Miller PN, Romero-Hernandez F, Calthorpe L, Wang JJ, Kim SS, Corvera CU, Hirose K, Kirkwood KS, Hirose R, Maker AV, Alseidi AA, Adam MA, Kim GE, Tempero MA, Ko AH, Nakakura EK. ASO Visual Abstract: Long-Duration Neoadjuvant Therapy with FOLFIRINOX Yields Favorable Outcomes for Patients Who Undergo Surgery for Pancreatic Cancer. Ann Surg Oncol. 2024 Jul 27. View on PubMed
  18. Wong P, Pollini T, Adam MA, Alseidi A, Corvera CU, Hirose K, Kirkwood KS, Nakakura EK, Thornblade L, Maker AV. Distinct Indications for Adjuvant Therapy in Resected Invasive Mucinous Cystic Neoplasms of the Pancreas Compared with Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma. Ann Surg Oncol. 2024 Nov; 31(12):8276-8286. View on PubMed
  19. Yogo A, Kasai Y, Nakakura EK. Enucleation of Neuroendocrine Liver Metastases. J Gastrointest Surg. 2024 10; 28(10):1735-1737. View on PubMed
  20. Parikh AR, Chee BH, Tsai J, Rich TA, Price KS, Patel SA, Zhang L, Ibrahim F, Esquivel M, Van Seventer EE, Jarnagin JX, Raymond VM, Corvera CU, Hirose K, Nakakura EK, Corcoran RB, Van Loon K, Atreya CE. Minimal Residual Disease using a Plasma-Only Circulating Tumor DNA Assay to Predict Recurrence of Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Following Curative Intent Treatment. Clin Cancer Res. 2024 Jul 15; 30(14):2964-2973. View on PubMed

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