Sao Jiralerspong, MD, PhD
Biography
Dr. Jiralerspong is a physician-scientist who earned his M.D. at Baylor College of Medicine and Ph.D. in chemistry at Rice University, studying natural products biosynthesis and cell metabolism. He completed medicine residency at Boston University School of Medicine, postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University, and oncology fellowship at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. He was previously an Assistant Professor of Medicine and an attending physician in the Breast Center at Baylor College of Medicine. He is currently an Associate Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Section of Breast Medical Oncology at the University of Arizona Cancer Center.
Cancer Focus
Dr. Jiralerspong is recognized for his research on metabolism in breast cancer, with presentations at national oncology meetings in obesity in breast cancer, and the role of the highly promising diabetes drug metformin in the treatment of breast cancer. He has published his research in high-impact journals such as the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Breast Cancer Research, PNAS, and Nature.
Selected Publications
Jiralerspong, S., and P. J. Goodwin, "Obesity and Breast Cancer Prognosis: Evidence, Challenges, and Opportunities.", J Clin Oncol, vol. 34, issue 35, pp. 4203-4216, 2016 12 10. PMID: 27903149
Camacho, L., A. Dasgupta, and S. Jiralerspong, "Metformin in breast cancer - an evolving mystery.", Breast Cancer Res, vol. 17, pp. 88, 2015 Jun 26. PMCID: PMC4480505 PMID: 26111812
Jiralerspong, S., E. S. Kim, W. Dong, L. Feng, G. N. Hortobagyi, and S. H. Giordano, "Obesity, diabetes, and survival outcomes in a large cohort of early-stage breast cancer patients.", Ann Oncol, vol. 24, issue 10, pp. 2506-14, 2013 Oct. PMCID: PMC3784334 PMID: 23793035
Qi, Y., M. C. Spong, K. Nam, A. Banerjee, S. Jiralerspong, M. Karplus, and G. L. Verdine, "Encounter and extrusion of an intrahelical lesion by a DNA repair enzyme.", Nature, vol. 462, issue 7274, pp. 762-6, 2009 Dec 10. PMCID: PMC2951314 PMID: 20010681
Jiralerspong, S., S. L. Palla, S. H. Giordano, F. Meric-Bernstam, C. Liedtke, C. M. Barnett, L. Hsu, M-C. Hung, G. N. Hortobagyi, and A. M. Gonzalez-Angulo, "Metformin and pathologic complete responses to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in diabetic patients with breast cancer.", J Clin Oncol, vol. 27, issue 20, pp. 3297-302, 2009 Jul 10. PMCID: PMC2736070 PMID: 19487376