Alexander I. Spira, MD, PhD, FACP
Dr. Alexander I. Spira is a medical oncologist and Co-Director at Virginia Cancer Specialists, a Fairfax, Virginia multidisciplinary practice of medical oncologists, hematologists, surgeons, palliative care physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants supported by social workers, dietitians, oncology nurses and oncology pharmacists.[1]
Board-certified in Medical Oncology and Internal Medicine, Dr. Spira is actively involved in both clinical practice and research. He uses innovative targeted treatment protocols to treat patients diagnosed with thoracic malignancies including malignant pleural mesothelioma, lung cancer, and sarcomas.
Education and Career
Dr. Spira earned his medical degree from the New York University School of Medicine and then completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He completed a fellowship in Medical Oncology at Johns Hopkins University Hospital. While completing his fellowship programs, he was awarded the National Institutes of Health Medical Scientist Training Program Fellowship, the Merck Corporation Scholarship, the Pediatric AIDS Foundation Fellowship, and the Harvard University Scholarship. He also earned a Ph.D. from the New York School of Arts and Sciences.[1]
Professional Memberships and Activities
Dr. Spira is Co-Chair of the USOncology Thoracic Oncology Committee, Chair of the USOncology Research Executive Committee, and member of the USOncology National Policy Board Executive Committee. He is also a faculty member at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, where he serves as an Assistant Professor of Oncology.[1]
Research
In addition to treating patients, Dr. Spiro is the Virginia Cancer Specialists Research Institute’s Director of the Phase I Trial Program. In this role, he particularly enjoys studying immunotherapy, personalized medicine, gastrointestinal, thoracic, and lung cancers, and sarcomas.[1]
He is a prolific author, co-author, and presenter at national and international conferences. His recent work includes:[2]
Publications
Clinical outcomes of older and younger patients treated with loncastuximab tesirine in the LOTIS-2 clinical trial. Hamadani, M., Spira, A., Zhou, X., Liao, L., Chen, L., Radford, J., Ai, W., Solh, M., Ardeshna, K., Hess, B., Caimi, P., Stathis, A., Carlo-Stella, C., Alderuccio, J.,…>; Blood Advances. 2024 Jan 9
Amivantamab plus lazertinib in osimertinib-relapsed EGFR-mutant advanced non-small cell lung cancer: a phase 1 trial. Byoung Chul Cho, Dong-Wan Kim, Alexander I Spira, Jorge E Gomez, Eric B Haura, Sang-We Kim, Rachel E Sanborn, Eun Kyung Cho, Ki Hyeong Lee, Anna Minchom, Jong-Seok Lee…>; Nature Medicine. 2023 Oct 1
Neoadjuvant Durvalumab Alone or Combined with Novel Immuno-Oncology Agents in Resectable Lung Cancer: The Phase II NeoCOAST Platform Trial. Tina Cascone, Gozde Kar, Jonathan D Spicer, Rosario García-Campelo, Walter Weder, Davey B Daniel, David R Spigel, Maen Hussein, Julien Mazieres, Julio Oliveira, Edwin …> ; Cancer Discovery. 2023 Nov 1
Journal Articles
- Differential Regulation of PD-L1 Expression by Immune and Tumor Cells in NSCLC and the Response to Treatment with Atezolizumab (Anti–PD-L1). Alan Sandler, David S Shames, Hartmut Koeppen, Jamie Chaft, Scott N Gettinger, Alexander Spira, Daniel S Chen, Naiyer A Rizvi, David R Spigel, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Brigatinib Versus Crizotinib in ALK-Positive Non-–Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer. D Ross Camidge, Scott N Gettinger, Alexander Spira, The New England Journal of Medicine
- Cell-Free DNA NGS Prediction of Response and Resistance to a 3rd-Generation EGFR Inhibitor. Alexander I Spira, Helena A Yu, Clinical Lung Cancer
Abstracts/Posters
- Safety, Efficacy and Biomarker Analysis of a Phase 1b/2 Study of Onvansertib (ONV), a Polo-like Kinase 1 (PLK1) Inhibitor, in Combination with Low-Dose Cytarabine (LDA… Alexander I. Spira, 61st Annual American Society of Hematology Meeting, Orlando, FL, 12/7/2019
- Interim Futility Analysis of a Phase 2 Study of Loncastuximab Tesirine, a Novel Pyrrolobenzodiazepine-Based Antibody-Drug Conjugate, in Patients with Relapsed or Refra…Alexander I. Spira, 61st Annual American Society of Hematology Meeting, Orlando, FL, 12/9/2019
Lectures
- The Impact of Immunotherapy on a Community Practice. Integrating Immunotherapy Into Clinical Practice: Changes Over the Past Year (Part 2). 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting – Chicago, Illinois – 05/31/2018
Authored ContentVr
- WCLC 2021: Study Improvements Mean Nothing Without Patients. February 2021
- Cell-Free DNA NGS Prediction of Response and Resistance to a 3rd-Generation EGFR Inhibitor. August 2018
