Quick Facts
  • wavy circle icon with check mark inside
    Expertise:
    Lung Cancer
    Immunotherapy
  • magnifying glass with heart icon
    Speciality:
    Medical Oncology
  • gender symbols interlocked icon
    Gender:
    Female
  • chat box with different language translations icon
    Language:
    English, Japanese
  • pin location icon
    Primary Location:
    UCI Health Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center

Get to Know Dr. Misako Nagasaka

Dr. Misako Nagasaka plays a key role in the multidisciplinary treatment of thoracic and head-and-neck malignancies at UCI Health Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center.

With an unusual background that includes philosophy and ethics, Nagasaka is known for an ability to put patients at ease, fully educating them on their treatment options with her personalized approach.

She has more than a decade of experience in treating lung cancer and mesothelioma patients, exploring options that go well beyond standard chemotherapy.

Nagasaka’s research involves novel clinical trials that have advanced the treatment of lung cancer with various immunotherapy combinations. She works closely with surgical oncologists, radiologists and pathologists to individualize treatment for each patient.

She also serves as an associate professor of Hematology/Oncology at UCI School of Medicine.

Contact Dr. Misako Nagasaka

Specialties of Dr. Misako Nagasaka

Dr. Misako Nagasaka’s Experience and Medical Education

  • UCI Health Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
  • Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute
  • Beth Israel Medical Center in New York (Residency)
  • National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo (Residency)
  • Karmanos Cancer Institute (Hematology and oncology fellowships)
  • St. Marianna University School of Medicine, Japan

Awards and Other Recognitions

  • N Program Scholar Award, Tokio Marine Foundation
  • St. Marianna University Scholarship Award
  • American Society of Clinical Oncology (Member)
  • American College of Physicians (Member)
  • American Board of Internal Medicine (Member)

Publications of Dr. Misako Nagasaka

  • Nagasaka, M. et al. (2020, May 11). Mortality and risk of progression to adult T cell leukemia/lymphoma in HTLV-1–associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
  • Nagasaka, M. et al. (2019, June 18). A retrospective study evaluating the pretreatment tumor volume (PTV) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) as a predictor of response to program death-1 (PD-1) inhibitors. Dovepress.
  • Abdallah, N. et al. (2018, July 17). Non-small cell to small cell lung cancer on PD-1 inhibitors: two cases on potential histologic transformation. Dovepress.