Photo of Adrienne G. Waks, MD

Adrienne G. Waks, MD

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Phone: (617) 632-3800


adrienne_waks@dfci.harvard.edu

Photo of Adrienne G. Waks, MD

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Phone: (617) 632-3800


adrienne_waks@dfci.harvard.edu

Visualize Collaborations

Adrienne G. Waks, MD

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

EDUCATIONAL TITLES

  • Assistant Professor, Medicine, Harvard Medical School
  • Staff Physician, Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

HCC PROGRAM AFFILIATION

Research Abstract

I am a physician-investigator in medical oncology with a focus on clinical and translational breast cancer research. My goal is to develop effective and innovative treatment regimens for breast cancer patients by performing therapeutic clinical trials with well-informed correlative analyses. My primary focus is on developing, writing, and leading clinical trial protocols for novel therapeutic agents and approaches in breast cancer patients. My research efforts concentrate in three main areas: (1) HER2+ breast cancer, where I am the principal investigator of multiple clinical trials for patients with both early stage and metastatic disease, and lead multiple grant-funded translational efforts to discover biomarkers relevant to patients with HER2+ breast cancer; (2) Immuno-oncology, where I have developed and led clinical trials of novel immuno-oncology-based treatment regimens; and (3) CDK4/6i resistance, where I collaborate closely with lab researchers to translate mechanistic discoveries into clinical trials available to patients in clinic.

Publications from Harvard Catalyst Profiles

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  • Corti C, Binboğa Kurt B, Koca B, Rahman T, Conforti F, Pala L, Bianchini G, Criscitiello C, Curigliano G, Garrido-Castro AC, Kabraji SK, Waks AG, Mittendorf EA, Tolaney SM. Estrogen Signaling in Early-Stage Breast Cancer: Impact on Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy and Immunotherapy. Cancer Treat Rev 2024; 132:102852. PubMed
  • Giannakou A, Kantor O, Park KU, Waks AG, Punglia RS, Dominici LS, Nakhlis F, Mittendorf EA, King TA. Real-World Implications of the SOUND Trial. Ann Surg Oncol 2024. PubMed
  • Waks AG, Martínez-Sáez O, Tarantino P, Braso-Maristany F, Pascual T, Cortés J, Tolaney SM, Prat A. Dual HER2 inhibition: mechanisms of synergy, patient selection, and resistance. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 2024. PubMed
  • Park KU, Lipsitz S, Dominici LS, Lynce F, Minami CA, Nakhlis F, Waks AG, Warren LE, Eidman N, Frazier J, Hernandez L, Leslie C, Rafte S, Stroud D, Weissman JS, King TA, Mittendorf EA. Generative artificial intelligence as a source of breast cancer information for patients: Proceed with caution. Cancer 2024. PubMed
  • Waks AG, Chen EL, Graham N, Frey AM, Almeida K, Attaya V, Ryding C, Abbass I, Fung A, Sussell J, Cortazar P, Harvey C, Leth D, Faggen M, Sinclair N, Walsh J, Tung N, Sinclair S, Lo S, Yardley D, Valero V, Meisel J, Ballinger TJ, Adams S, Carey LA, Rauch JK, Abramson VG, Williams NO, Chen WY, Leone JP, Schumer ST, Tayob N, Tolaney SM. Subcutaneous vs Intravenous Trastuzumab/Pertuzumab: A Time and Motion Substudy of a Phase II Trial of Adjuvant Trastuzumab/Pertuzumab for Stage I HER2+ Breast Cancer (ADEPT trial). JCO Oncol Pract 2024. PubMed
  • Tarantino P, Tayob N, Villacampa G, Dang C, Yardley DA, Isakoff SJ, Valero V, Faggen M, Mulvey T, Bose R, Weckstein D, Wolff AC, Reeder-Hayes K, Rugo HS, Ramaswamy B, Zuckerman D, Hart L, Gadi VK, Constantine M, Cheng K, Garrett AM, Marcom PK, Albain K, DeFusco P, Tung N, Ardman B, Nanda R, Jankowitz RC, Rimawi M, Abramson V, Pohlmann PR, Van Poznak C, Forero-Torres A, Liu MC, Ruddy KJ, Waks AG, DeMeo M, Burstein HJ, Partridge AH, Dell'Orto P, Russo L, Krause E, Newhouse DJ, Kurt BB, Mittendorf EA, Schneider B, Prat A, Winer EP, Krop IE, Tolaney SM, , . Adjuvant Trastuzumab Emtansine Versus Paclitaxel Plus Trastuzumab for Stage I Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2-Positive Breast Cancer: 5-Year Results and Correlative Analyses From ATEMPT. J Clin Oncol 2024. PubMed
  • Tarantino P, Leone J, Vallejo CT, Freedman RA, Waks AG, Martínez-Sáez O, Garrido-Castro A, Lynce F, Tayob N, Lin NU, Tolaney SM, Leone JP. Prognosis and treatment outcomes for patients with stage IA triple-negative breast cancer. NPJ Breast Cancer 2024; 10:26. PubMed
  • Li Z, Metzger Filho O, Viale G, dell'Orto P, Russo L, Goyette MA, Kamat A, Yardley DA, Gupta Abramson V, Arteaga CL, Spring LM, Chiotti K, Halsey C, Waks AG, King TA, Lester SC, Bellon JR, Winer EP, Spellman PT, Krop IE, Polyak K. HER2 heterogeneity and treatment response-associated profiles in HER2-positive breast cancer in the NCT02326974 clinical trial. J Clin Invest 2024. PubMed
  • Weiss A, Jin Q, Waks AG, Yardley D, Spring LM, Wrabel E, Tayob N, Viale G, Krop IE, King TA, Metzger-Filho O. Axillary Nodal Response to Neoadjuvant T-DM1 Combined with Pertuzumab in a Prospective Phase II Multi-Institution Clinical Trial. J Am Coll Surg 2023. PubMed
  • Weiss A, Martínez-Sáez O, Waks AG, Laws A, McGrath M, Tarantino P, Portnow L, Winer E, Rey M, Tapia M, Prat A, Partridge AH, Tolaney SM, Cejalvo JM, Mittendorf EA, King TA. Nodal positivity and systemic therapy among patients with clinical T1-T2N0 human epidermal growth factor receptor-positive breast cancer: Results from two international cohorts. Cancer 2023; 129:1836-1845. PubMed
  • Bueno-Muiño C, Echavarría I, López-Tarruella S, Roche-Molina M, Del Monte-Millán M, Massarrah T, Jerez Y, Ayala de la Peña F, García-Sáenz JÁ, Moreno F, Rodríguez-Lescure Á, Malón-Giménez D, Ballesteros García AI, Marín-Aguilera M, Galván P, Brasó-Maristany F, Waks AG, Tolaney SM, Mittendorf EA, Vivancos A, Villagrasa P, Parker JS, Perou CM, Paré L, Villacampa G, Prat A, Martín M. Assessment of a Genomic Assay in Patients With ERBB2-Positive Breast Cancer Following Neoadjuvant Trastuzumab-Based Chemotherapy With or Without Pertuzumab. JAMA Oncol 2023; 9:841-846. PubMed
  • Lipsyc-Sharf M, Jain E, Collins LC, Rosenberg SM, Ruddy KJ, Tamimi RM, Schapira L, Come SE, Peppercorn JM, Borges VF, Warner E, Snow C, Krop IE, Kim D, Weiss J, Zanudo JGT, Partridge AH, Wagle N, Waks AG. Genomics of -Positive Breast Cancer in Young Women Before and After Exposure to Chemotherapy Plus Trastuzumab. JCO Precis Oncol 2023; 7:e2300076. PubMed
  • Waks AG, Ogayo ER, Paré L, Marín-Aguilera M, Brasó-Maristany F, Galván P, Castillo O, Martínez-Sáez O, Vivancos A, Villagrasa P, Villacampa G, Tarantino P, Desai N, Guerriero J, Metzger O, Tung NM, Krop IE, Parker JS, Perou CM, Prat A, Winer EP, Tolaney SM, Mittendorf EA. Assessment of the HER2DX Assay in Patients With ERBB2-Positive Breast Cancer Treated With Neoadjuvant Paclitaxel, Trastuzumab, and Pertuzumab. JAMA Oncol 2023; 9:835-840. PubMed
  • Weiss A, Li T, Desai NV, Tung NM, Poorvu PD, Partridge AH, Nakhlis F, Dominici L, Sinclair N, Spring LM, Faggen M, Constantine M, Krop IE, DeMeo M, Wrabel E, Alberti J, Chikarmane S, Tayob N, King TA, Tolaney SM, Winer EP, Mittendorf EA, Waks AG. Impact of Neoadjuvant Paclitaxel/Trastuzumab/Pertuzumab on Breast Tumor Downsizing for Patients with HER2+ Breast Cancer: Single-Arm Prospective Clinical Trial. J Am Coll Surg 2023. PubMed
  • Martínez-Sáez O, Waks AG. Individualizing Curative-Intent Therapy in HER2-Positive Early-Stage Breast Cancer. Curr Treat Options Oncol 2023; 24:479-495. PubMed
  • Tolaney SM, Tarantino P, Graham N, Tayob N, Parè L, Villacampa G, Dang CT, Yardley DA, Moy B, Marcom PK, Albain KS, Rugo HS, Ellis MJ, Shapira I, Wolff AC, Carey LA, Barroso-Sousa R, Villagrasa P, DeMeo M, DiLullo M, Zanudo JGT, Weiss J, Wagle N, Partridge AH, Waks AG, Hudis CA, Krop IE, Burstein HJ, Prat A, Winer EP. Adjuvant paclitaxel and trastuzumab for node-negative, HER2-positive breast cancer: final 10-year analysis of the open-label, single-arm, phase 2 APT trial. Lancet Oncol. 2023; 24:273-285. PubMed
  • Waks AG, Keenan TE, Li T, Tayob N, Wulf GM, Richardson ET, Attaya V, Anderson L, Mittendorf EA, Overmoyer B, Winer EP, Krop IE, Agudo J, Van Allen EM, Tolaney SM. Phase Ib study of pembrolizumab in combination with trastuzumab emtansine for metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer. J Immunother Cancer 2022. PubMed
  • Waks AG, Desai NV, Li T, Poorvu PD, Partridge AH, Sinclair N, Spring LM, Faggen M, Constantine M, Metzger O, Alberti J, Deane J, Rosenberg SM, Frank E, Tolaney SM, Krop IE, Tung NM, Tayob N, King TA, Mittendorf EA, Winer EP. A prospective trial of treatment de-escalation following neoadjuvant paclitaxel/trastuzumab/pertuzumab in HER2-positive breast cancer. NPJ Breast Cancer 2022; 8:63. PubMed
  • Tarantino P, Curigliano G, Parsons HA, Lin NU, Krop I, Mittendorf EA, Waks A, Winer EP, Tolaney SM. Aiming at a Tailored Cure for ERBB2-Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer: A Review. JAMA Oncol 2022; 8:629-635. PubMed
  • Waks AG, Kim D, Jain E, Snow C, Kirkner GJ, Rosenberg SM, Oh C, Poorvu PD, Ruddy KJ, Tamimi RM, Peppercorn J, Schapira L, Borges VF, Come SE, Brachtel EF, Warner E, Collins LC, Partridge AH, Wagle N. Somatic and germline genomic alterations in very young women with breast cancer. Clin Cancer Res 2022. PubMed
  • Barroso-Sousa R, Vaz-Luis I, Di Meglio A, Hu J, Li T, Rees R, Sinclair N, Milisits L, Leone JP, Constantine M, Faggen M, Briccetti F, Block C, Partridge A, Burstein H, Waks AG, Tayob N, Trippa L, Tolaney SM, Hassett MJ, Winer EP, Lin NU. Prospective Study Testing a Simplified Paclitaxel Premedication Regimen in Patients with Early Breast Cancer. Oncologist 2021; 26:927-933. PubMed
  • Metzger Filho O, Viale G, Stein S, Trippa L, Yardley DA, Mayer IA, Abramson VG, Arteaga CL, Spring LM, Waks AG, Wrabel E, DeMeo MK, Bardia A, Dell'Orto P, Russo L, King TA, Polyak K, Michor F, Winer EP, Krop IE. Impact of HER2 heterogeneity on treatment response of early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer: phase II neoadjuvant clinical trial of T-DM1 combined with pertuzumab. 2021. PubMed
  • Goldberg J, Pastorello RG, Vallius T, Davis J, Cui YX, Agudo J, Waks AG, Keenan T, McAllister SS, Tolaney SM, Mittendorf EA, Guerriero JL. The Immunology of Hormone Receptor Positive Breast Cancer. 2021; 12:674192. PubMed
  • Mao P, Cohen O, Kowalski KJ, Kusiel JG, Buendia-Buendia JE, Cuoco MS, Exman P, Wander SA, Waks AG, Nayar U, Chung J, Freeman S, Rozenblatt-Rosen O, Miller VA, Piccioni F, Root DE, Regev A, Winer EP, Lin NU, Wagle N. Acquired FGFR and FGF Alterations Confer Resistance to Estrogen Receptor (ER) Targeted Therapy in ER Metastatic Breast Cancer. Clin Cancer Res 2020. PubMed
  • Wander SA, Cohen O, Gong X, Johnson GN, Buendia-Buendia JE, Lloyd MR, Kim D, Luo F, Mao P, Helvie K, Kowalski KJ, Nayar U, Waks AG, Parsons SH, Martinez R, Litchfield LM, Ye XS, Yu C, Jansen VM, Stille JR, Smith PS, Oakley GJ, Chu QS, Batist G, Hughes ME, Kremer JD, Garraway LA, Winer EP, Tolaney SM, Lin NU, Buchanan SG, Wagle N. The genomic landscape of intrinsic and acquired resistance to cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitors in patients with hormone receptor positive metastatic breast cancer. 2020. PubMed
  • Vaz-Luis I, Barroso-Sousa R, Di Meglio A, Hu J, Rees R, Sinclair N, Milisits L, Leone JP, Constantine M, Faggen M, Briccetti F, Block C, O'Neil K, Partridge A, Burstein H, Waks AG, Trippa L, Tolaney SM, Hassett M, Winer EP, Lin NU. Avoiding Peg-Filgrastim Prophylaxis During the Paclitaxel Portion of the Dose-Dense Doxorubicin-Cyclophosphamide and Paclitaxel Regimen: A Prospective Study. J Clin Oncol 2020. PubMed
  • Waks AG, Stover DG, Guerriero JL, Dillon D, Barry WT, Gjini E, Hartl C, Lo W, Savoie J, Brock J, Wesolowski R, Li Z, Damicis A, Philips AV, Wu Y, Yang F, Sullivan A, Danaher P, Brauer HA, Osmani W, Lipschitz M, Hoadley KA, Goldberg M, Perou CM, Rodig S, Winer EP, Krop IE, Mittendorf EA, Tolaney SM. The Immune Microenvironment in Hormone Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer Before and After Preoperative Chemotherapy. Clin Cancer Res 2019. PubMed
  • Waks AG, Winer EP. Breast Cancer Treatment: A Review. JAMA 2019; 321:288-300. PubMed
  • Waks AG, Winer EP. Breast Cancer Treatment. JAMA 2019; 321:316. PubMed
  • Nayar U, Cohen O, Kapstad C, Cuoco MS, Waks AG, Wander SA, Painter C, Freeman S, Persky NS, Marini L, Helvie K, Oliver N, Rozenblatt-Rosen O, Ma CX, Regev A, Winer EP, Lin NU, Wagle N. Acquired HER2 mutations in ER metastatic breast cancer confer resistance to estrogen receptor-directed therapies. Nat Genet 2018. PubMed
  • Adalsteinsson VA, Ha G, Freeman SS, Choudhury AD, Stover DG, Parsons HA, Gydush G, Reed SC, Rotem D, Rhoades J, Loginov D, Livitz D, Rosebrock D, Leshchiner I, Kim J, Stewart C, Rosenberg M, Francis JM, Zhang CZ, Cohen O, Oh C, Ding H, Polak P, Lloyd M, Mahmud S, Helvie K, Merrill MS, Santiago RA, O'Connor EP, Jeong SH, Leeson R, Barry RM, Kramkowski JF, Zhang Z, Polacek L, Lohr JG, Schleicher M, Lipscomb E, Saltzman A, Oliver NM, Marini L, Waks AG, Harshman LC, Tolaney SM, Van Allen EM, Winer EP, Lin NU, Nakabayashi M, Taplin ME, Johannessen CM, Garraway LA, Golub TR, Boehm JS, Wagle N, Getz G, Love JC, Meyerson M. Scalable whole-exome sequencing of cell-free DNA reveals high concordance with metastatic tumors. Nat Commun 2017; 8:1324. PubMed
  • Waks AG, Partridge AH. Fertility Preservation in Patients With Breast Cancer: Necessity, Methods, and Safety. J Natl Compr Canc Netw 2016; 14:355-63. PubMed
  • Waks AG, King TA, Winer EP. Timeliness in Breast Cancer Treatment-The Sooner, the Better. JAMA Oncol 2015. PubMed
  • Waks AG, Tolaney SM. The evolving understanding of small HER2-positive breast cancers: matching management to outcomes. Future Oncol 2015; 11:3261-71. PubMed
  • Waks AG, Tolaney SM, Galar A, Arnaout A, Porter JB, Marty FM, Winer EP, Hammond SP, Baden LR. Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia (PCP) in patients receiving neoadjuvant and adjuvant anthracycline-based chemotherapy for breast cancer: incidence and risk factors. Breast Cancer Res Treat 2015. PubMed
  • Waks AG, Lennon J, Yadav BS, Hwang H, dSchapirael Carmen M, Johnson NB, Reynolds K, Schapira L, Gilman PB, Overmoyer B. Metastasis to the Cervix Uteri 15 Years After Treatment of Lobular Carcinoma of the Breast. Semin Oncol 2015; 42:e81-94. PubMed
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