Dr. Anne Tsao

Bio

As the director of the Mesothelioma Program at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Anne Tsao, M.D., has an important message for people dealing with the rare asbestos-related cancer.

There is hope for patients with mesothelioma,” Tsao said, holding firm that “patients with mesothelioma can certainly exceed the median survival of six months.

Hired by MD Anderson after completing her fellowship at the Houston campus in 2004, Tsao is part of a mesothelioma focus group that works closely with the hospital’s surgeons, research nurses, lung specialists and radiologists. The team, made up of about 30 physicians, matches each patient with a clinical trial that it considers to best suit the patient’s case.

She often stresses the benefits of the multidisciplinary approach offered by a large center. “Not only do we have the clinical research program, but we have a very active laboratory-based program as well because we’re trying to find a cure for this tumor,” Tsao said.

Tsao’s involvement with the MD Anderson Cancer Center continues beyond her clinical practice. She is an associate professor in the Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology and the director of the Thoracic Chemo-Radiation Program. She also serves as the chair of MD Anderson’s Clinical Research Committee.

One of the clinical research projects Tsao has supervised was a Phase I trial that yielded tumor shrinkage after four weeks of treatment with a specific mesothelioma drug called dasatinib.

We need to make a breakthrough . . . and I do believe that systematic therapy with targeted agents is the way to go,” Tsao said of the trial, which is supported by the U.S. Department of Defense.

Tsao’s expertise in the treatment of mesothelioma puts her in demand for interviews and as a public speaker. Her medical opinions have been published in a number of medical journals, including the Journal of Thoracic Oncology and the International Journal of Cancer Prevention. She has contributed to 22 manuscripts since 2001.

Publications

• Tsao has published 14 journal articles discussing the treatment of mesothelioma, lung cancer and other head and neck cancers. Her works have been accepted by the Journal of Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, the Journal of Clinical Oncology and the Journal of Thoracic Oncology, among others.