Dr. Marianna Koczywas

Get to Know Dr. Marianna Koczywas

Dr. Marianna Koczywas has been a staff physician at City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center since 2001, specializing in thoracic oncology and diseases of the lungs, including pleural mesothelioma.

She is part of the lung cancer and head and neck cancer teams at City of Hope, which is a world leader in the treatment and research of several serious diseases. The goal is providing patients with the opportunity to live longer and much better lives.

“For patients who have just been told they have cancer, I want them to know there is a place they can come, either for treatment or to get the best opinion,” Koczywas said. “At City of Hope, we have a great team of people where these patients can receive the best possible care.”

Koczywas is the principal investigator in several ongoing clinical trials, including two specifically involving mesothelioma. She also is an outspoken advocate for combining palliative care with cancer treatment programs early in the process.

She received her degree in 1984 from the Medical Academy of Lodz, in Lodz, Poland, then did a residency at St. Francis Medical Center in Pittsburgh. Koczywas first came to City of Hope for fellowships that included the Department of Medical Oncology & Therapeutics Research and the Department of Hematology/Bone Marrow Transplantation.

Specialties of Dr. Marianna Koczywas

• Pleural mesothelioma
• Lung cancer
• Research

Dr. Marianna Koczywas’ Experience and Medical Education

• City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center
• Medical Academy of Lodz (M.D.)
• St. Francis Medical Center (Residency)
• City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center (Fellowship)

Awards and Certifications

• Exceptional Women in Medicine, Castle Connolly (2019-2020)
• America’s Top Doctors for Cancer, Castle Connolly (2016-2020)
• Top Doctor, Newsweek (2015)
• Double board certified in internal medicine and hematology

Mesothelioma Clinical Trials Under Marianna Koczywas, M.D.

• Methoxyamine, Cisplatin, and Pemetrexed Disodium in Treating Patients with Advanced Solid Tumors or Mesothelioma That Cannot Be Removed by Surgery or Mesothelioma That Is Refractory to Pemetrexed Disodium and Cisplatin or Carboplatin.
• Pembrolizumab With or Without Anetumab Ravtansine in Treating Patients with Mesothelin-Positive Pleural Mesothelioma.

Publications of Dr. Marianna Koczywas

• Zhao, D. et al. (2020, August). Association of molecular characteristics with survival in advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients treated with checkpoint inhibitors. Lung Cancer. 
• Wong, S.F. et al. (2020, July). A prospective study to validate the functional assessment of cancer therapy (FACT) for epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor (EGFRI)-induced dermatologic toxicities FACT-EGFRI 18 questionnaire: SWOG S1013. Journal of Patient-Reported Outcomes.
• Salgia, R. et al. (2020, July). Evaluation of Omics-Based Strategies for the Management of Advanced Lung Cancer. JCO Oncology Practice.