Kelly M. McMasters, M.D., Ph.D.

Education:

B.A., Biology, Colgate University, 1983
Ph.D., Cell and Developmental Biology, Rutgers University, 1988
M.D., UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson (formerly Rutgers) Medical School, 1989
Residency, Surgery, University of Louisville, 1989-1994
Board Certified, American Board of Surgery, 1995-present
Fellowship, Surgical Oncology, University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1994-1996
American College of Surgeons, 1999

Curriculum Vitae

Current Positions:

Ben A. Reid, Sr., M.D. Professor and Chair, The Hiram C. Polk, Jr., MD Department of Surgery, University of Louisville School of Medicine

Clinical Focus and Research:

Dr. McMasters’ current clinical areas of interest are melanoma and cutaneous malignancies, breast cancer, and sarcoma. In his role as the Director of the Multidisciplinary Melanoma Clinic, he works with Dr. Jason Chesney and others to identify the most effective combination of therapeutic modalities including surgery, immunotherapy, targeted therapies, and radiation therapy for patients with all stages of melanoma.

Throughout his career, Dr. McMasters has directed a basic and translational science laboratory studying adenovirus-mediated cancer gene therapy, melanoma biomarkers, and more recently immunotherapy, which has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, the American Cancer Society, the Melanoma Research Foundation, and other agencies. He is the author and principal investigator of the Sunbelt Melanoma Trial, a multi-institutional study involving over 3500 patients from 79 institutions across North America. He is also the principal investigator of the University of Louisville Breast Sentinel Lymph Node Study, a multi-institutional study involving more than 300 surgeons and 4,100 patients.  He has also been principal investigator of or co-investigator of dozens of clinical trials. Dr. McMasters has been President of the Society of Surgical Oncology, the Society of Surgical Chairs, the Southern Surgical Association, the Western Surgical Association, and the Southeastern Surgical Association.  He is the current Treasurer of the American Surgical Association. He has served as Editor-in-Chief of Annals of Surgical Oncology since 2018.  He serves as a Councilor of the American Board of Surgery and a member of the Complex General Surgical Oncology Board.  He has authored more than 500 peer-reviewed publications that have been cited more than 41,000 times, 29 book chapters, and a book entitled Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Targeted Therapy.

Literature Cited:

  1. McMasters KM, Egger ME, Edwards MJ, Ross MI, Reintgen DS, Noyes RD, Martin RC 2nd, Goydos JS, Beitsch PD, Urist MM, Ariyan S, Sussman JJ, Davidson BS, Gershenwald JE, Hagendoorn LJ, Stromberg AJ, Scoggins CR. Final Results of the Sunbelt Melanoma Trial: A Multi-Institutional Prospective Randomized Phase III Study Evaluating the Role of Adjuvant High-Dose Interferon Alfa-2b and Completion Lymph Node Dissection for Patients Staged by Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy.  J Clin Oncol 2016 Apr 1;34(10):1079-86. PMID: 26858331. PMCID: PMC5321066.
  2. Xiao D, Barry S, Kmetz D, Egger M, Pan J, Rai SN, Qu J, McMasters KM, Hao H. Melanoma cell-derived exosomes promote epithelial-mesenchymal transition in primary melanocytes through paracrine/autocrine signaling in the tumor microenvironment. Cancer Lett 2016 Jul 1;376:318-327. PMID: 27063098. PMCID: PMC4869527.
  3. Jaffee EM, Dang CV, Agus DB, Alexander BM, Anderson KC, Ashworth A, Barker AD, Bastani R, Bhatia S, Bluestone JA, Brawley O, Butte AJ, Coit DG, Davidson NE, Davis M, DePinho RA, Diasio RB, Draetta G, Frazier AL, Futreal A, Gambhir SS, Ganz PA, Garraway L, Gerson S, Gupta S, Heath J, Hoffman RI, Hudis C, Hughes-Halbert C, Ibrahim R, Jadvar H, Kavanagh B, Kittles R, Le QT, Lippman SM,  Mankoff D, Mardis ER, Mayer DK, McMasters K, Meropol NJ, Mitchell B, Naredi P, Ornish D, Pawlik TM, Peppercorn J, Pomper MG, Raghavan D, Ritchie C, Schwarz SW, Sullivan R, Wahl R, Wolchok JD, Wong SL, Yung A. Future cancer research priorities in the USA: a Lancet Oncology Commission. Lancet Oncol. 2017 Nov;18(11):e653-e706. PMID: 29208398.  
  4. Garza-Morales R, Gonzalez-Ramos R, Chiba A, Montes de Oca-Luna R, McNally LR, McMasters KM, Gomez-Gutierrez JG. Temozolomide enhances triple-negative breast cancer virotherapy in vitro. Cancers (Basel) 2018 May 17;10(5). pii: E144. PMID: 29772752. PMCID: PMC5977117.
  5. Faries MB, Thompson JF, Cochran AJ, Andtbacka RH, Mozzillo N, Zager JS, Jahkola T, Bowles TL, Testori A, Beitsch PD, Hoekstra HJ, Moncrieff M, Ingvar C, Wouters MWJM, Sabel MS, Levine EA, Agnese D, Henderson M, Dummer R, Rossi CR, Neves RI, Trocha SD, Wright F, Byrd DR, Matter M, Hsueh E, MacKenzie-Ross A, Johnson DB, Terheyden P, Berger AC, Huston TL, Wayne JD, Smithers BM, Neuman HB, Schneebaum S, Gershenwald JE, Ariyan CE, Desai DC, Jacobs L, McMasters KM, Gesierich A, Hersey P, Bines SD, Kane JM, Barth RJ, McKinnon G, Farma JM, Schultz E, Vidal-Sicart S, Hoefer RA, Lewis JM, Scheri R, Kelley MC, Nieweg OE, Noyes RD, Hoon DSB, Wang HJ, Elashoff DA, Elashoff RM. Completion dissection or observation for Sentinel-Node Metastasis in Melanoma. N Engl J Med. 2017 Jun 8;376(23):2211-2222. PMID: 28591523. PMCID: PMC5548388.

PubMed Information

Additional Information:

Department of Surgery - Western Surgical Presidential Address

SSO 2018: Presidential Address