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Toni Choueiri

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Toni Choueiri
Choueiri in 2025
Born
Beirut, Lebanon
Academic background
EducationMD, Saint Joseph University Residency/Fellowship, Cleveland Clinic
Academic work
InstitutionsDana–Farber Cancer Institute

Toni K. Choueiri is a Lebanese American medical oncologist and researcher. He is the Jerome and Nancy Kohlberg Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of the Lank Center for Genitourinary Oncology at the Dana–Farber Cancer Institute. His work has led to the establishment of several novel drugs (cabozantinib, avelumab, pazopanib and others including combinations) and prognostic factors in advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Choueiri also co-established the International metastatic database Consortium with Daniel Heng. His biomarker work has shed light on complex immunogenomics mechanisms contributing to response and resistance to targeted therapy and immunotherapy.[1][2]

Early life and education

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Choueiri was born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon[3] where he remained for his medical degree at Saint Joseph University's Faculty of Medicine. He trained at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio after his medical school and moved in 2007 to the Dana–Farber Cancer Institute.[4]

Career

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Choueiri collaborated with Paul L. Nguyen in 2011 to perform a meta-analysis of randomized studies involving 4,141 prostate cancer patients to conclude whether men receiving ADT had a higher rate of cardiovascular deaths. The conclusion of the study found that there was no difference between those who received ADT compared with those who didn't but could not rule out that ADT might elevate the risk of fatal heart attacks.[5] The following year, Choueiri found that three new cancer drugs were linked to a slightly elevated chance of fatal side effects.[6] From 2015 and for the next several years, Choueiri led the development of cabozantinib in metastatic RCC from early phase 1 to randomized trials leading to its approval in TKI-refractory disease in 2016 and in untreated RCC patients in 2017.[7][8] Choueiri also co-established the International metastatic database Consortium with Daniel Heng.[9]

In 2017, Choueiri led a study which found that patients with metastatic papillary renal cell carcinoma benefited from savolitinib, a drug targeted to an abnormal genetic pathway causing cancerous growth.[10] The following year, Choueiri was appointed full professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and continued in his position as the director of the Lank Center for Genitourinary Oncology.[11] In this role, he led the development of the combination of axitinib+avelumab from phase I to late stage trials, leading to the combination being approved for RCC therapy in May 2019.[12]

During the COVID-19 pandemic in North America, Choueiri completed shifts with the COVID-19 service team, treating oncology patients who have either been diagnosed COVID-19 positive, or who are suspected of being COVID-19 positive.[13] In an effort to combat COVID, he co-led a multinational study to identify risk factors unique to cancer patients.[14] He also continued his research into kidney cancer and developed, with Matthew Freedman, one of the first liquid biopsy methods which could detect early stages of kidney cancers with high accuracy. The test was nearly 100 per cent accurate when used with blood samples to distinguish patients with kidney cancer from those without.[15] Similarly, Choueiri also collaborated with William Kaelin Jr. in translational and clinical research, specifically around HIF2 inhibitors in clear-cell renal cancers.[16][17] In January 2021, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved nivolumab, an immunotherapy drug, with cabozantinib for advanced renal cell carcinoma treatment.[18][19] He also co-led with Robert Motzer the development of the combination of Lenvatinib+pembrolizumab which was FDA approved in August 2021.[20][21]

Later that year, Choueiri revealed the results of his KEYNOTE-564 trial, which showed for the first time that immunotherapy can be efficacious in the adjuvant setting in high-risk renal cancer (RRC). This culminated in the FDA's approval of pembrolizumab in RCC after surgery.[22][23] That drug, later called Belzutifan, was FDA approved based on LITESPARK-005 trial that Choueiri led.[24][25] As a result of his research, Choueiri was inducted in the 2021 Giants of Cancer Care class[26] and received the King Hussein Cancer Research Lifetime Achievement Award- International Track.[27] He was also inducted as a member into the American Society for Clinical Investigation.[28]

In 2024, Choueiri and Dana-Farber scientist Catherine J. Wu oversaw phase 1 of a clinical trial to test the effectiveness of personalized cancer vaccines on kidney cancer. Their results found that neoantigen-derived personalized cancer vaccines were capable of targeting key driver mutations in kidney cancer, which can then induce anti-cancer immunity. All nine of their clinical trial patients generated a successful anti-cancer immune response after they received the vaccine.[29][30] In recognition of his continued efforts to combat cancer, Choueiri was awarded the Waun Ki Hong Award for Outstanding Achievement in Translational and Clinical Cancer Research.[31] In 2026, FDA approval was granted to the combination of pembrolizumab and Belzutifan based on Choueiri’s work combining targets and drugs from the 2018 and 2019 Nobel Prizes in Medicine.[32]

Personal life

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Choueiri and his wife Sue have two children together and are soccer fans of the MLS, Bundesliga, and Premier League.[13]

References

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  1. ↑ Motzer, R. J.; Robbins, P. B.; Powles, T.; Albiges, L.; Haanen, J. B.; Larkin, J.; Mu, X. J.; Ching, K. A.; Uemura, M.; Pal, S. K.; Alekseev, B.; Gravis, G.; Campbell, M. T.; Penkov, K.; Lee, J. L.; Hariharan, S.; Wang, X.; Zhang, W.; Wang, J.; Chudnovsky, A.; Di Pietro, A.; Donahue, A. C.; Choueiri, T. K. (November 2020). "Avelumab plus axitinib versus sunitinib in advanced renal cell carcinoma: biomarker analysis of the phase 3 JAVELIN Renal 101 trial". Nature Medicine. 26 (11): 1733–1741. doi:10.1038/s41591-020-1044-8. PMC 8493486. PMID 32895571.
  2. ↑ Miao, D.; Margolis, C. A.; Gao, W.; Voss, M. H.; Li, W.; Martini, D. J.; Norton, C.; Bossé, D.; Wankowicz, S. M.; Cullen, D.; Horak, C.; Wind-Rotolo, M.; Tracy, A.; Giannakis, M.; Hodi, F. S.; Drake, C. G.; Ball, M. W.; Allaf, M. E.; Snyder, A.; Hellmann, M. D.; Ho, T.; Motzer, R. J.; Signoretti, S.; Kaelin Jr, W. G.; Choueiri, T. K.; Van Allen, E. M. (February 16, 2018). "Genomic correlates of response to immune checkpoint therapies in clear cell renal cell carcinoma". Science. 359 (6377): 801–806. Bibcode:2018Sci...359..801M. doi:10.1126/science.aan5951. PMC 6035749. PMID 29301960.
  3. ↑ Wisnia, Saul (July 25, 2018). "Dana-Farber Oncologist Gears Up for First Pan-Mass Challenge". jimmyfund.org. The Jimmy Fund. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  4. ↑ "Toni K. Choueiri, MD". physiciandirectory.brighamandwomens.org. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  5. ↑ "New study reassures on heart risks of prostate cancer treatment". dana-farber.org. December 6, 2011. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  6. ↑ "Three 'targeted' cancer drugs raise risk of fatal side effects". dana-farber.org. February 6, 2012. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  7. ↑ Choueiri, Toni K.; Escudier, Bernard; Powles, Thomas (November 5, 2015). "Cabozantinib versus Everolimus in Advanced Renal-Cell Carcinoma". The New England Journal of Medicine. 373 (19): 1814–1823. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1510016. PMC 5024539. PMID 26406150.
  8. ↑ Choueiri, Toni K. (February 20, 2017). "Cabozantinib Versus Sunitinib As Initial Targeted Therapy for Patients With Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma of Poor or Intermediate Risk: The Alliance A031203 CABOSUN Trial". Journal of Clinical Oncology. 35 (6): 591–597. doi:10.1200/JCO.2016.70.7398. PMC 5455807. PMID 28199818.
  9. ↑ Ko, J. J.; Xie, W.; Kroeger, N.; Lee, J. L.; Rini, B. I.; Knox, J. J.; Bjarnason, G. A.; Srinivas, S.; Pal, S. K.; Yuasa, T.; Smoragiewicz, M.; Donskov, F.; Kanesvaran, R.; Wood, L.; Ernst, D. S.; Agarwal, N.; Vaishampayan, U. N.; Rha, S. Y.; Choueiri, T. K.; Heng, D. Y. (March 2015). "The International Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma Database Consortium model as a prognostic tool in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma previously treated with first-line targeted therapy: a population-based study". The Lancet Oncology. 16 (3): 293–300. doi:10.1016/S1470-2045(14)71222-7. PMID 25681967.
  10. ↑ "Targeted drug shows promise in rare advanced kidney cancer". dana-farber.org. June 23, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  11. ↑ "2018-2019 Recently Appointed Professors" (PDF). fa.hms.harvard.edu. 2018. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  12. ↑ Choueiri, Toni K. (May 20, 2019). "Biomarker analyses from JAVELIN Renal 101: Avelumab + axitinib (A+Ax) versus sunitinib (S) in advanced renal cell carcinoma (aRCC)". Journal of Clinical Oncology. 37 (15): 101. doi:10.1200/JCO.2019.37.15_suppl.101. S2CID 190871839. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  13. 1 2 Lemieux, Jeff (April 24, 2020). "Hometown Heroes: Dr. Toni Choueiri, Revs Season Member, fighting on the frontlines". revolutionsoccer.net. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  14. ↑ "Multinational study identifies high risk to cancer patients diagnosed with COVID-19". dana-farber.org. May 28, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  15. ↑ "Biomarker test highly accurate in detecting early kidney cancer". newswise.com. June 22, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  16. ↑ "Nobel Prize Research Was a Winning Formula for Patient with Kidney Cancer". dana-farber.org. January 7, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  17. ↑ Onyeneho, Laura (December 14, 2019). "Harvard Nobel Prize winner's research extends life of cancer patient". Boston Herald. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  18. ↑ "FDA approves nivolumab plus cabozantinib for advanced renal cell carcinoma". fda.gov. January 22, 2021. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  19. ↑ Goodman, Alice (September 19, 2020). "CheckMate 9ER Trial Shows Benefit of Novel Doublet for Advanced Kidney Cancer". ascopost.com. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  20. ↑ Motzer, Robert; et al. (April 8, 2021). "Lenvatinib plus Pembrolizumab or Everolimus for Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma". The New England Journal of Medicine. 384 (14): 1289–1300. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2035716. PMID 33616314. S2CID 231988072.
  21. ↑ "FDA approves lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab for advanced renal cell carcinoma". FDA. August 11, 2021. Archived from the original on August 11, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  22. ↑ "FDA Approves Merck's KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) as Adjuvant Therapy for Certain Patients With Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC) Following Surgery". Merck & Co. November 18, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  23. ↑ Choueiri, Toni K.; et al. (August 19, 2021). "Adjuvant Pembrolizumab after Nephrectomy in Renal-Cell Carcinoma". The New England Journal of Medicine. 385 (8): 683–694. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2106391. PMID 34407342. S2CID 237215136.
  24. ↑ Fallah, Jaleh (November 15, 2024). "FDA Approval Summary: Belzutifan for Patients with Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma". Clinical Cancer Research. 30 (22). Retrieved August 11, 2026.
  25. ↑ "Belzutifan versus Everolimus for Advanced Renal-Cell Carcinoma". The New England Journal of Medicine. 391 (21). November 7, 2024. Retrieved August 11, 2026.
  26. ↑ "Giants of Cancer Care® Announces Ninth Annual Class of Inductees". PR Newswire. September 16, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  27. ↑ "Professor Toni Choueiri: Lifetime Achievement International Track". King Hussein Cancer Award. 2023. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
  28. ↑ "Toni K. Choueiri, MD, MS". American Society for Clinical Investigation. Retrieved August 11, 2026.
  29. ↑ "Cancer vaccine shows promise for patients with stage III and IV kidney cancer". Dana-Farber. February 5, 2025. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  30. ↑ Braun, David A.; et al. (February 5, 2025). "A neoantigen vaccine generates antitumour immunity in renal cell carcinoma". Nature. 639 (8054): 474–482. doi:10.1038/s41586-024-08507-5. PMC 11903305.
  31. ↑ "Dana-Farber Researchers Receive AACR 2025 Scientific Achievement Awards". Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. April 14, 2025. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
  32. ↑ Choueiri, Toni K.; Motzer, Robert J. (July 1, 2026). "Adjuvant Pembrolizumab plus Belzutifan for Renal-Cell Carcinoma". The New England Journal of Medicine. 395 (1). Retrieved August 11, 2026.
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