Takami Sato, MD, PhD
Director, Metastatic Uveal Melanoma Program
K. Hasumi, MD Professor in Medical Oncology
Professor
Contact Information
Honickman Center
1101 Chestnut Street
14th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Director, Metastatic Uveal Melanoma Program
K. Hasumi, MD Professor in Medical Oncology
Professor
Education
Medical School
Jichi Medical University, Japan - 1980
Residency
Oita Prefectural Hospital, Japan
Fellowship
Jichi Medical University, Japan
Most Recent Peer-Reviewed Publications
- A rat-based preclinical platform facilitating transcatheter hepatic arterial infusion in immunodeficient rats with liver xenografts of patient-derived pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma
- Long-term survival follow-up for tebentafusp in previously treated metastatic uveal melanoma
- Individualised neoantigen cancer vaccine therapy
- Slow proliferation of BAP1-deficient uveal melanoma cells is associated with reduced S6 signaling and resistance to nutrient stress
- Co-Targeting FASN and mTOR Suppresses Uveal Melanoma Growth
Board Certification
Internal Medicine
Medical Oncology
Pediatrics
Hospital Appointment
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
Methodist Hospital Division of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
Research & Clinical Interests
As director of the Metastatic Uveal Melanoma Program at Jefferson, Dr. Sato heads one of the few programs in the United States treating melanoma originating in the eye. Although uveal melanoma is the most common adult eye tumor, the disease is very rare, affecting only six or seven people per one million. This cancer commonly spreads to the liver, and patients who do not receive treatment live an average of six months. Dr. Sato has devoted his career to improving understanding of this disease and developing new treatments, particularly for patients who are not eligible for surgery.
Dr. Sato’s studies focus on cancer immunotherapy, or the use of the immune system to fight cancer. His clinical trials involving a procedure called immunoembolization have shown promising results.
In immunoembolization, a chemical to stimulate patients’ immune systems is administered to the hepatic artery that feeds the liver tumor and then the artery is blocked, cutting off oxygen to tumors and keeping the injected medicine in the tumor. In one trial, one-third of patients had tumor shrinkage, and another third experienced no tumor growth. Dr. Sato is building on these outcomes as he continues to examine methods of treating uveal melanoma and delaying its progression.