Joseph Drabick, MD - Penn State Cancer Institute
Researcher Profile
Joseph Drabick, MD
Professor and Rose Dunlap Division Chief Chair in Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine
Division of Hematology and Oncology
Division of Hematology and Oncology
Scientific Program:Next-Generation Therapies
Disease Teams:
Cancer Institute, Brain and Central Nervous System Cancer Team
Cancer Institute, Genitourinary Cancer Team
Cancer Institute, Immunotherapy Team
Cancer Institute, Melanoma and Skin Cancer Team
Cancer Institute, Sarcoma Cancer Team
Cancer Institute, Genitourinary Cancer Team
Cancer Institute, Immunotherapy Team
Cancer Institute, Melanoma and Skin Cancer Team
Cancer Institute, Sarcoma Cancer Team
Research Interests
- Therapeutics
- Neoplasms
- Melanoma
- Survival
- Drug Therapy
- Haiti
- United Nations
- Vaccines
- Infections
- Immunotherapy
- Skin
- Radiotherapy
Clinical Trials
General Protocol for the Acquisition of Whole Blood for the Detection and Characterization of Circulating Tumor Cells and/or Tumor Specific Immunity/Immune Cell Activation for any Malignancy at any Stage of Disease
A Retrospective Evaluation to Understand how â-adrenergic Antagonism Impacts the Progression of Melanoma and the Efficacy of Standard Treatments Intended to Eliminate the Cancer
A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blind Study of Adjuvant Cemiplimab versus Placebo after Surgery and Radiation Therapy in Patients with High Risk Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma (CSCC)
Randomized Phase II/III Trial of Adjuvant Radiation Therapy with Cisplatin, Docetaxel-Cetuximab, or Cisplatin-Atezolizumab in Pathologic High-Risk Squamous Cell Cancer of the Head and Neck
A Randomized, Phase 2 Study of Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) in combination with GC4711 in the Treatment of Unresectable or Borderline Resectable, Nonmetastatic Pancreatic Cancer
Colon Adjuvant Chemotherapy Based on Evaluation of Residual Disease (CIRCULATE-US) (NRG-GI008)
STAMP: Surgically Treated Adjuvant Merkel cell carcinoma with Pembrolizumab, a Phase III Trial
Phase III Randomized Trial Of Concurrent Chemoradiotherapy With or Without Atezoluzumab in Localized Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer
Phase 2 Study of Bladder-SparIng ChemoradiatioN with CIPosItive bladdeR cancEr (INSPIRE)EA8185
KEYSTROKE: A Randomized Phase II Study of Pembrolizumab (KEYTRUDA®) Plus Stereotactic Re-irradiation Versus SBRT Alone for Locoregionally Recurrent or Second Primary Head and Neck Carcinoma
APG-115 - A Phase Ib/II Study of APG-115 in Combination with Pembrolizumab in Patients with Unresectable or Metastatic Melanomas or Advanced Solid Tumors
An Open-Label, Randomized, Controlled Multi-Center Study of The Efficacy of Daromun (L19IL2 + L19TNF) Neoadjuvant Intratumoral Treatment Followed by Surgery and Adjuvant Therapy Versus Surgery and Adjuvant Therapy in Clinical Stage IIIB/C Melanoma Patients (PSCI 21-190) (PH-L19IL2TNF-01/18)
PD-Inhibitor (Nivolumab) and Ipilimumab Followed by Nivolumab vs. VEGF TKI Cabozantinib with Nivolumab: A Phase III Trial in Metastatic Renal Cell Cancer (PDIGREE)
A Phase II/III Randomized Study of Maintenance Nivolumab versus Observation in Patients with Locally Advanced, Intermediate Risk HPV Positive OPCA
A Phase Ib/11 Study of Propranolol with fixed-dose Pembrolizumab in Patients with Unresectable Stage III and Stage IV Melanoma
NRG-HN005 - A Randomized Phase II/III Trial of De-intensified Radiation Therapy for Patients with Early-Stage, P16-Positive, Non-Smoking Associated Oropharyngeal Cancer
MAIN-CAV: Phase III Randomized Trial of Maintenance Cabozantinib and Avelumab vs Maintenance Avelumab After First-Line Platinum-Based Chemotherapy in Patients With Metastatic Urothelial Cancer
Recent Publications
2023
Joshi, M, Tuanquin, L, Zhu, J, Walter, V, Schell, T, Kaag, M, Kilari, D, Liao, J, Holder, SL, Emamekhoo, H, Sankin, A, Merrill, S, Zheng, H, Warrick, J, Hauke, R, Gartrel, B, Stein, M, Drabick, J, Degraff, DJ & Zakharia, Y 2023, 'Concurrent durvalumab and radiation therapy (DUART) followed by adjuvant durvalumab in patients with localized urothelial cancer of bladder: Results from phase II study, BTCRC-GU15-023', Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer, vol. 11, no. 2, e006551. https://doi.org/10.1136/jitc-2022-006551
2021
Joshi, M, Holder, SL, Zhu, J, Zheng, H, Komanduri, S, Warrick, J, Yasin, H, Gajre, R, Jia, B, Drabick, JJ, DeGraff, DJ & Zakharia, Y 2022, 'Avelumab in Combination with Eribulin Mesylate in Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma: BTCRC GU-051, a Phase 1b Study', European Urology Focus, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 483-490. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euf.2021.03.005
Spengler, M, Wheelden, M, MacKley, HB & Drabick, JJ 2021, 'Durable major response with pazopanib in recurrent, heavily pretreated metastatic esthesioneuroblastoma harboring a fumarate hydratase mutation', JCO Precision Oncology, vol. 5, pp. 664-669. https://doi.org/10.1200/PO.20.00486
Nesterova, D, Zhu, J, Kramer, C, Vasekar, M, Truica, C, Joshi, A, Hayes, M, Kessler, J, Saunders, EFH, Drabick, JJ & Joshi, M 2022, 'Group-led creative writing and behavioural health in cancer: A randomised clinical trial', BMJ Supportive and Palliative Care, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 91-98. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjspcare-2020-002463
Abraham, J, Heimberger, AB, Marshall, J, Heath, E, Drabick, J, Helmstetter, A, Xiu, J, Magee, D, Stafford, P, Nabhan, C, Antani, S, Johnston, C, Oberley, M, Korn, WM & Spetzler, D 2021, 'Machine learning analysis using 77,044 genomic and transcriptomic profiles to accurately predict tumor type', Translational Oncology, vol. 14, no. 3, 101016. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranon.2021.101016
Zaorsky, NG, Khunsriraksakul, C, Acri, SL, Liu, DJ, Ba, DM, Lin, JL, Liu, G, Segel, JE, Drabick, JJ, Mackley, HB & Leslie, DL 2021, 'Medical Service Use and Charges for Cancer Care in 2018 for Privately Insured Patients Younger Than 65 Years in the US', JAMA network open, vol. 4, no. 10, 27784. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.27784
Najjar, YG, McCurry, D, Lin, H, Lin, Y, Zang, Y, Davar, D, Karunamurthy, A, Drabick, JJ, Neves, RI, Butterfield, LH, Ernstoff, MS, Puzanov, I, Skitzki, JJ, Bordeaux, J, Summit, ISB, Bender, JO, Kim, JY, Chen, B, Sarikonda, G, Pahuja, A, Tsau, J, Alfonso, Z, Laing, C, Pingpank, JF, Holtzman, MP, Sander, C, Rose, A, Zarour, HM, Kirkwood, JM & Tarhini, AA 2021, 'Neoadjuvant pembrolizumab and high-dose IFNa-2b in resectable regionally advanced melanoma', Clinical Cancer Research, vol. 27, no. 15, pp. 4195-4204. https://doi.org/10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-20-4301
Gandhi, S, Pandey, MR, Attwood, K, Ji, W, Witkiewicz, AK, Knudsen, ES, Allen, C, Tario, JD, Wallace, PK, Cedeno, CD, Levis, M, Stack, S, Funchain, P, Drabick, JJ, Bucsek, MJ, Puzanov, I, Mohammadpour, H, Repasky, EA & Ernstoff, MS 2021, 'Phase I clinical trial of combination propranolol and pembrolizumab in locally advanced and metastatic melanoma: safety, tolerability, and preliminary evidence of antitumor activity', Clinical Cancer Research, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 87-95. https://doi.org/10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-20-2381
Zakharia, Y, McWilliams, RR, Rixe, O, Drabick, J, Shaheen, MF, Grossmann, KF, Kolhe, R, Pacholczyk, R, Sadek, R, Tennant, LL, Smith, CM, Kennedy, EP, Link, CJ, Vahanian, NN, Yu, J, Shen, SS, Brincks, EL, Rossi, GR, Munn, D & Milhem, M 2021, 'Phase II trial of the IDO pathway inhibitor indoximod plus pembrolizumab for the treatment of patients with advanced melanoma', Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer, vol. 9, no. 6, e002057. https://doi.org/10.1136/jitc-2020-002057
Tchelebi, LT, Batchelder, E, Wang, M, Lehrer, EJ, Drabick, JJ, Sharma, N, MacHtay, M, Trifiletti, DM & Zaorsky, NG 2021, 'Radiotherapy and Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Inhibition for Solid Cancers (ROCKIT): A Meta-Analysis of 13 Studies', JNCI Cancer Spectrum, vol. 5, no. 4, pkab050. https://doi.org/10.1093/jncics/pkab050
2020
Zheng, H, Mineishi, S, Claxton, D, Zhu, J, Zhao, C, Jia, B, Ehmann, WC, Rybka, WB, Naik, S, Songdej, N, Drabick, JJ & Hohl, RJ 2021, 'A phase I clinical trial of avelumab in combination with decitabine as first line treatment of unfit patients with acute myeloid leukemia', American Journal of Hematology, vol. 96, no. 2, pp. E46-E50. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajh.26043
Joshi, M, Grivas, P, Mortazavi, A, Monk, P, Clinton, SK, Sue-Ann Woo, M, Holder, SL, Drabick, JJ & Yin, M 2020, 'Alterations of DNA damage response genes correlate with response and overall survival in anti-PD-1/PD-L1-treated advanced urothelial cancer', Cancer medicine, vol. 9, no. 24, pp. 9365-9372. https://doi.org/10.1002/cam4.3552
Rao, P, Segel, JE, McGregor, LM, Lengerich, EJ, Drabick, JJ & Miller, B 2020, 'Attendance at National Cancer Institute and Children's Oncology Group Facilities for Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults with Cancer in Pennsylvania: A Population-Based Study', Journal of Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 47-54. https://doi.org/10.1089/jayao.2019.0045
Moku, P, Shepherd, L, Ali, SM, Leitzel, K, Parulekar, WR, Zhu, L, Virk, S, Nomikos, D, Aparicio, S, Gelmon, K, Drabick, J, Cream, L, Halstead, ES, Umstead, TM, Mckeone, D, Polimera, H, Maddukuri, A, Ali, A, Nagabhairu, V, Poulose, J, Pancholy, N, Spiegel, H, Chen, BE & Lipton, A 2020, 'Higher serum PD-L1 level predicts increased overall survival with lapatinib versus trastuzumab in the CCTG MA.31 phase 3 trial', Cancer, vol. 126, no. 22, pp. 4859-4866. https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.33149
Liu, J, Xu, C, Zhu, J, Sivik, J, Drabick, JJ & Mackley, HB 2020, 'Identifying the optimal fractionation schedules for improved response rates and survival in patients with metastatic melanoma treated with ipilimumab and radiotherapy', Current Cancer Therapy Reviews, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 78-85. https://doi.org/10.2174/2542584601666180326111906
Najjar, YG, Navrazhina, K, Ding, F, Bhatia, R, Tsai, K, Abbate, K, Durden, B, Eroglu, Z, Bhatia, S, Park, S, Chowdhary, A, Chandra, S, Kennedy, J, Puzanov, I, Ernstoff, M, Vachhani, P, Drabick, J, Singh, A, Xu, T, Yang, J, Carvajal, R, Manson, D, Kirkwood, JM, Cohen, J, Sullivan, R, Johnson, D, Funchain, P & Shoushtari, A 2020, 'Ipilimumab plus nivolumab for patients with metastatic uveal melanoma: a multicenter, retrospective study', Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer, vol. 8, no. 1. https://doi.org/10.1136/jitc-2019-000331
Hendriksen, BS, Stahl, KA, Hollenbeak, CS, Taylor, MD, Vasekar, MK, Drabick, JJ, Conte, JV, Soleimani, B & Reed, MF 2021, 'Postoperative chemotherapy and radiation improve survival following cardiac sarcoma resection', Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, vol. 161, no. 1, pp. 110-119.e4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtcvs.2019.10.016
Yin, M, Grivas, P, Wang, QE, Mortazavi, A, Emamekhoo, H, Holder, SL, Drabick, JJ, Woo, MSA, Pal, S, Vasekar, M, Folefac, E, Clinton, SK, Monk, P & Joshi, M 2020, 'Prognostic Value of DNA Damage Response Genomic Alterations in Relapsed/Advanced Urothelial Cancer', Oncologist, vol. 25, no. 8, pp. 680-688. https://doi.org/10.1634/theoncologist.2019-0851
Schmitz, KH, Potiaumpai, M, Schleicher, EA, Wolf, LJ, Doerksen, SE, Drabick, JJ, Yee, NS, Truica, CI, Mohamed, AA, Shaw, BW & Farley, DC 2021, 'The exercise in all chemotherapy trial', Cancer, vol. 127, no. 9, pp. 1507-1516. https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.33390
Sha, CM, Lehrer, EJ, Hwang, C, Trifiletti, DM, Mackley, HB, Drabick, JJ & Zaorsky, NG 2020, 'Toxicity in combination immune checkpoint inhibitor and radiation therapy: A systematic review and meta-analysis', Radiotherapy and Oncology, vol. 151, pp. 141-148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radonc.2020.07.035
2019
Willumsen, N, Ali, SM, Leitzel, K, Drabick, JJ, Yee, N, Polimera, HV, Nagabhairu, V, Krecko, L, Ali, A, Maddukuri, A, Moku, P, Ali, A, Poulose, J, Menon, H, Pancholy, N, Costa, L, Karsdal, MA & Lipton, A 2019, 'Collagen fragments quantified in serum as measures of desmoplasia associate with survival outcome in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer', Scientific reports, vol. 9, no. 1, 19761. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-56268-3
Zhu, J, Hussain, M, Joshi, A, Truica, CI, Nesterova, D, Collins, J, Saunders, EFH, Hayes, M, Drabick, JJ & Joshi, M 2020, 'Effect of creative writing on mood in patients with cancer', BMJ Supportive and Palliative Care, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 64-67. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjspcare-2018-001710
Jia, B, Zhao, C, Rakszawski, KL, Claxton, DF, Christopher Ehmann, W, Rybka, WB, Mineishi, S, Wang, M, Shike, H, Bayerl, MG, Sivik, JM, Schell, TD, Drabick, JJ, Hohl, RJ & Zheng, H 2019, 'Eomes+T-betlow CD8+ T cells are functionally impaired and are associated with poor clinical outcome in patients with acute myeloid leukemia', Cancer Research, vol. 79, no. 7, pp. 1635-1645. https://doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-18-3107
Cummings, M, Lehrer, EJ, Drabick, J, Gusani, NJ, Trifiletti, DM & Zaorsky, N 2019, 'Exceptional responders in oncology: A systematic review and meta-analysis of patient level data', American Journal of Clinical Oncology: Cancer Clinical Trials, vol. 42, no. 8, pp. 624-635. https://doi.org/10.1097/COC.0000000000000572
Zaleski, M, Gogoj, A, Walter, V, Raman, JD, Kaag, M, Merrill, SB, Drabick, J, Joshi, M, Holder, S, DeGraff, DJ & Warrick, JI 2019, 'Mitotic activity in noninvasive papillary urothelial carcinoma: its value in predicting tumor recurrence and comparison with the contemporary 2-tier grading system', Human Pathology, vol. 84, pp. 275-282. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.humpath.2018.10.008
Joshi, M, Warrick, JI, Yin, M, Holder, SL & Drabick, JJ 2019, 'Need for a personalized approach for muscle invasive bladder cancer: Role of tumor biology in response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy', Translational Andrology and Urology, vol. 8, pp. S99-S103. https://doi.org/10.21037/tau.2018.12.04