Ariel Grajales-Cruz, MD

Cancer Focus:
Multiple Myeloma-Plasma Cell Disorders

Dr. Grajales-Cruz received his MD from Universidad Central del Caribe in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. He completed an Internal Medicine Residency at Veterans Administration Caribbean Healthcare System, where he also served as Chief Resident. Most recently, he completed a Hematology and Medical Oncology Fellowship at Moffitt Cancer Center/University of South Florida.

Dr. Grajales-Cruz’s clinical and research interests include plasma cell dyscrasias, such as multiple myeloma, monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance, plasmacytoma, primary systemic amyloidosis and Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia.

Education & Training

Board Certification:

• Internal Medicine -

Fellowship:

• University of South Florida / Moffitt Cancer Center - Hematology and Medical Oncology

Residency:

• Veteran's Administration Caribbean Healthcare System (VACHS) - Internal Medicine

Medical School:

• Universidad Central del Caribe (UCC) - MD

Clinical Trial 22100
A Dose Escalation and Expansion Study of ABBV-383 in Combination with Anti-Cancer Regimens for the Treatment of Patients with Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma
Condition: Malignant Hematology
Intervention: CC-4047 (Pomalidomide); CC-5013 (Lenalidomide); Daratumumab (Darzalex); Dexamethasone (); Lenalidomide (Revlimid); Nirogacestat (); Pomalidomide (); abbv-383 (Etentamig)
Status: Open

Clinical Trial 23563
A Phase 1b trial of Teclistamab in Combination with Iberdomide for Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma
Condition: Malignant Hematology
Intervention: Iberdomide (); Teclistamab ()
Status: Open

If you believe you are eligible for one of these trials or studies, please call
813-745-6100 or toll-free 1-800-679-0775.

• Hammami MB, Haney SP, DeAvila D, Fadul J, Simonelli CE, Seitzler SC, Ravichandran S, Alsina M, Blue B, Grajales-Cruz A, Baz R, Shain KH. Dermatologic Adverse Effects With Elranatamab Mimicking Talquetamab. Am J Hematol. 2026 Jan.101(1):218-221. Pubmedid: 41211748.
• Banerjee R, Kaur G, Razzo BM, Portuguese AJ, Sidana S, Richards T, Grajales-Cruz A, Richard S, Shune L, Khouri J, Dima D, Lee HC, Patel KK, Pasvolsky O, Vazquez-Martinez M, Hansen DK, Afrough A, Davis JA, Hashmi H, Atrash S, Ferreri CJ, Julian KL, Herr MM, Midha S, Costello P, Forsberg P, de Menezes Silva Corraes A, Lin Y, Cowan AJ, Anderson LD, Garfall AL. Predictors of Delayed Responses to Teclistamab in Multiple Myeloma After Initial Non-Response. Am J Hematol. 2026 Jan.101(1):169-173. Pubmedid: 41074685.
• Meads MB, Zhao X, Noyes DR, Sudalagunta P, Achille A, Zhang C, Renatino Canevarolo R, Silva M, Magaletti D, DeAvila D, Toska S, Oates A, Lastorino D, Idiaquez DW, Song J, Sansil S, Yoder SJ, Grajales-Cruz AF, Blue BJ, Freeman CL, Kim J, Alsina M, Brayer J, Siqueira Silva A, Song X, Shain KH, Baz RC. Target antigen and plasma cell phenotype are critical factors for sensitivity to response-adapted daratumumab therapy. Blood. 2025 Sep. Pubmedid: 40983035.
• Dhakal B, Akhtar OS, Fandrei D, Jensen A, Banerjee R, Pan D, Richard S, Friend R, Rees MJ, Costello P, Vazquez Martinez MA, Pasvolsky O, Wagner CB, Davis JA, Castaneda Puglianini OA, Reshef R, Afrough A, Dima D, Bhutani M, Nadeem O, Parrondo RD, Freeman CL, Mikkilineni L, Raza S, Anderson LD, Kapoor P, Hosoya H, Chhabra S, Grajales-Cruz A, Gaballa MR, Midha S, Alsina M, Sborov DW, Patel KK, Lin Y, Ferreri CJ, Gagelmann N, Kumar AD, Hansen DK, Cowan AJ, Costa LJ, Merz M, Sidana S. Sequential targeting in multiple myeloma: talquetamab, a GPRC5D bispecific antibody, as a bridge to BCMA CAR-T therapy. Blood. 2025 Oct.146(17):2063-2072. Pubmedid: 40749169.
• Abuhelwa Z, Amisha F, Fan W, De Avila G, Hansen DK, Grajales-Cruz AF, Blue B, Castaneda O, Liu H, Freeman CL, Nishihori T, Locke FL, Shain KH, Baz R, Alsina M. Post-progression outcomes following BCMA-directed CAR T-cell therapy in myeloma: impact of extramedullary and paramedullary disease. Front Oncol. 2025 Oct.15:1663814. Pubmedid: 41220935. Pmcid: PMC12597725.
• Razzo BM, Midha S, Portuguese AJ, Grajales-Cruz AF, De Menezes Silva Corraes A, Costello P, Liu Y, Sperling AS, Nadeem O, Dima D, Banerjee R, Cowan AJ, Afrough A, Anderson LD, Lieberman-Cribbin A, Kaur G, Goyal A, Atrash S, Ferreri CJ, Voorhees PM, Pasvolsky O, Lee HC, Patel KK, Julian KL, Forsberg PA, Herr MM, Chhabra S, Parrondo RD, Lin Y, Chen A, Susanibar-Adaniya SP, Khouri J, Raza S, Anwer F, Vazquez-Martinez M, Castaneda Puglianini O, Sborov DW, Davis JA, Rossi A, Shune L, Bhurtel J, Hwang WT, Hansen DK, Sidana S, Garfall AL, Richard S. Real-World Experience with Teclistamab for Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma from the US Myeloma Immunotherapy Consortium. Blood Cancer Discov. 2025 Nov.6(6):561-571. Pubmedid: 40629516.
• Pasvolsky O, Dima D, Feng L, Dong W, Richards T, Davis JA, Afrough A, Vazquez-Martinez M, Sannareddy A, Goel U, Banerjee R, Khouri J, Cervoni F, Gaballa MR, Lieberman-Cribbin A, Rana MS, Julian K, Ferreri CJ, Shune L, DeJarnette S, Bhurtel E, Susanibar Adaniya S, Portuguese A, Hosoya H, Mikkilineni L, Kaur G, Rossi A, Herr MM, Schrum D, Lin C, Raza S, Lin Y, Midha S, Omar N, Atarsh S, McGuirk J, Sborov D, Voorhees P, Anwer F, Alsina M, Freeman C, Garfall AL, Razzo BM, Sidana S, Cowan AJ, Anderson LD, Hansen DK, Richard S, Patel KK, Lee HC, Grajales-Cruz A. Outcomes of elderly patients with relapsed refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) treated with teclistamab: a multicenter study from the U.S. Multiple Myeloma Immunotherapy Consortium. Blood Cancer J. 2025 May.15(1):92. Pubmedid: 40346049. Pmcid: PMC12064690.
• Dima D, Vazquez-Martinez MA, Davis JA, Goel U, Afrough A, Sannareddy A, Pasvolsky O, Razzo B, Banerjee R, Khouri J, Grajales-Cruz A, Lieberman-Cribbin A, Rana MS, Julian K, DeJarnette S, Portuguese AJ, Gaballa MR, De Avila G, Susaniba Adaniya S, Raza S, Herr MM, Ouchveridze E, Richards T, Hosoya H, Mikkilineni L, Kaur G, Castaneda Puglianini O, Rossi A, Lin Y, Atrash S, Sborov D, Shain KH, Voorhees PM, Richard S, Garfall AL, Hansen DK, Sidana S, Patel KK, Cowan AJ, Anderson LD, Lee HC, Anwer F, Ferreri CJ, Shune L. Outcomes of teclistamab in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma with prior exposure to BCMA-directed therapy: a multicenter study from the U.S. Multiple Myeloma Immunotherapy Consortium. Blood Cancer J. 2025 Jun.15(1):111. Pubmedid: 40562770. Pmcid: PMC12198414.
• Dima D, Afrough A, Goel U, Grajales-Cruz A, Khouri J, Julian K, Pasvolsky O, Banerjee R, Razzo B, Ferreri CJ, Vazquez Martinez MA, Davis JA, Sannareddy A, Castaneda Puglianini O, Raza S, Portuguese AJ, Gaballa MR, Rana M, Lieberman-Cribbin A, DeJarnette S, Gonzalez R, Chen A, Herr MM, Mikkilineni L, Hosoya H, Ouchveridze E, Kaur G, Rossi AC, Shune L, Anwer F, Lin Y, Richard S, Sborov DW, Baz RC, Garfall A, Lee HC, Anderson LD, Cowan AJ, Patel KK, Voorhees PM, Sidana S, Susanibar-Adaniya SP, Hansen DK, Atrash S. Teclistamab for patients with heavily pretreated relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma and renal impairment. Blood Adv. 2025 Jul.9(14):3408-3417. Pubmedid: 40198766. Pmcid: PMC12274829.
• Dima D, Logue JM, Waqar SHB, Peres LC, Colin-Leitzinger CM, De Avila G, Smith EC, Skelson L, Matte KL, Blue B, Hovanky VN, Gaballa M, Pasvolsky O, Oswald LB, Fortuna GGM, Wagner CB, DeJarnette S, Dillard C, Perna F, Mikkilineni L, Hosoya H, Freeman CL, Shain KH, Baz RC, Grajales-Cruz A, Puglianini OC, Alsina M, Locke FL, Shune LO, Sborov DW, Patel KK, Sidana S, Hansen DK. Cytopenias and infections following ciltacabtagene autoleucel in heavily-pretreated relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. Haematologica. 2025 Jul. Pubmedid: 40637727.
• Razzo BM, Midha S, Portuguese AJ, Grajales-Cruz AF, De Menezes Silva Corraes A, Costello P, Liu Y, Sperling AS, Nadeem O, Dima D, Banerjee R, Cowan AJ, Afrough A, Anderson LD, Lieberman-Cribbin A, Kaur G, Goyal A, Atrash S, Ferreri CJ, Voorhees PM, Pasvolsky O, Lee HC, Patel KK, Julian KL, Forsberg PA, Herr MM, Chhabra S, Parrondo RD, Lin Y, Chen A, Susanibar-Adaniya SP, Khouri J, Raza S, Anwer F, Vazquez-Martinez M, Castaneda Puglianini O, Sborov DW, Davis JA, Rossi A, Shune L, Bhurtel J, Hwang WT, Hansen DK, Sidana S, Garfall AL, Richard S. Real-World Experience with Teclistamab for Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma from the US Myeloma Immunotherapy Consortium. Blood Cancer Discov. 2025 Aug.OF1-OF11. Pubmedid: 40778675.
• Palfi S, Peres LC, Koelmeyer H, Alsina M, Baz RC, Blue BJ, Corallo S, De Avila G, Freeman C, Gonzalez R, Grajales-Cruz A, Harvey K, Liu HD, Nishihori T, Oliveira GH, Oswald LB, Castaneda Puglianini O, Selvakumar S, Sharma AB, Wang E, Shain KH, Jain M, Locke FL, Alomar M, Hansen DK, Lee DH. Cardiovascular adverse events and outcomes after anti-BCMA CAR-T for relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma. Blood Cancer J. 2025 Apr.15(1):63. Pubmedid: 40229239. Pmcid: PMC11997198.
• Freeman CL, Noble J, Menges M, Villanueva R, Nakashima JY, Figura NB, Tonseth RP, Idiaquez DW, Skelson L, Smith EC, Abraham-Miranda J, Corallo S, De Avila G, Castaneda Puglianini O, Liu HD, Alsina M, Nishihori T, Shain KH, Baz RC, Blue BJ, Grajales-Cruz A, Koomen JM, Atkins RM, Hansen DK, Siqueira Silva A, Kim J, Balagurunathan Y, Locke FL. Tumor burden quantified by soluble B-cell maturation antigen and metabolic tumor volume determines myeloma CAR-T outcomes. Blood. 2025 Apr.145(15):1645-1657. Pubmedid: 39652773.
• Sawalha Y, Sarosiek S, Welkie RL, Seif S, Thapa S, Zanwar S, Cahill K, Treitman R, Shah H, Arora S, Pongas G, Winter A, Major A, Riedell PA, Palomba ML, Kapoor P, Grajales-Cruz A, Shain KH, Thomas SK, Castillo JJ. Outcomes of patients with relapsed/refractory lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma/waldenström macroglobulinemia treated with venetoclax: a multicenter retrospective analysis. Blood Cancer J. 2025 Apr.15(1):65. Pubmedid: 40234394. Pmcid: PMC12000436.
• Akhtar OS, Modi K, Kim J, Skellson L, Smith E, Al-Jumayli MA, Extermann M, De Avila G, Parker N, Castaneda-Puglianini O, Grajales-Cruz A, Baz R, Blue B, Shain K, Alsina M, Liu H, Nishihori T, Jain MD, Locke FL, Hansen DK, Freeman CL. Simple Score of Albumin and CRP Predicts High-Grade Toxicity in Patients with Multiple Myeloma Receiving CAR-T Therapy. Transplant Cell Ther. 2024 Mar.30(3):283.e1-283.e10. Pubmedid: 38123069.
• Akhtar OS, Sheeba BA, Azad F, Alessi L, Hansen D, Alsina M, Baz R, Shain K, Grajales Cruz A, Castaneda Puglianini O, Liu H, Blue B, Nishihori T, Al Jumayli M, Extermann M, Locke FL, Mhaskar R, Freeman CL. Safety and efficacy of anti-BCMA CAR-T cell therapy in older adults with multiple myeloma: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Geriatr Oncol. 2024 Mar.15(2):101628. Pubmedid: 37723045.
• Chavez JC, Grajales A, Sandoval-Sus J, Turba E, Nodzon L, Uriepero-Palma A, Ammad-Ud-Din M, Sahakian E, Komrokji R, Sokol L, Locke FL, Shah B, Lancet J, Sotomayor EM, Kharfan-Dabaja MA, Bello C, Pinilla-Ibarz J. Long-term follow up of the combination of ofatumumab, high-dose methylprednisolone, and lenalidomide for untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia with biomarker analysis. Clin Lymphoma Myeloma Leuk. 2024 Jun.24(6):382-391.e2. Pubmedid: 38508880.
• Hortin GL, Stapp RT, Thapa SB, Grajales-Cruz AF. Problematic Proteins: A Patient with a High Paraprotein Concentration. Clin Chem. 2024 Jul.70(7):905-908. Pubmedid: 38965700.
• Dong N, Zhang H, Song J, Mammadova J, Shah B, Saeed H, Gaballa S, Grajales-Cruz A, Isenalumhe L, Bello C, Sokol L, Pinilla J, Chavez J. B-cell maturation antigen expression and clinical features of plasmablastic lymphoma. EJHaem. 2024 Feb.5(1):285-289. Pubmedid: 38406544. Pmcid: PMC10887266.
• Oswald LB, Gudenkauf LM, Li X, De Avila G, Peres LC, Kirtane K, Gonzalez BD, Hoogland AI, Nguyen O, Rodriguez Y, Baz RC, Shain KH, Alsina M, Locke FL, Freeman C, Castaneda Puglianini O, Nishihori T, Liu H, Blue B, Grajales-Cruz A, Jim HSL, Hansen DK. Patient-Reported Outcomes among Multiple Myeloma Patients Treated with Standard of Care Idecabtagene Vicleucel. Cancers (Basel). 2023 Sep.15(19). Pubmedid: 37835405. Pmcid: PMC10571575.
• Lee DH, Kumar A, Mohammed T, Peres LC, Alsina M, Bachmeier CA, Blue B, Brayer J, Chandrasekhar S, Grajales-Cruz AF, De Avila G, Elmariah H, Faramand RG, Freeman CL, Jain MD, Khadka S, Khimani F, Liu H, Nishihori T, Oswald LB, Castaneda Puglianini OA, Shain KH, Smith E, Baz RC, Locke FL, Oliveira GH, Alomar M, Hansen DK. Cardiac events after standard of care idecabtagene vicleucel for relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma. Blood Adv. 2023 Aug.7(16):4247-4257. Pubmedid: 37307173. Pmcid: PMC10424134.
• Logue JM, Peres LC, Hashmi H, Colin-Leitzinger C, Shrewsbury AM, Hosoya H, Gonzalez R, Copponex C, Kottra KH, Hovanky V, Sahaf B, Patil S, Lazaryan A, Jain MD, Baluch A, Klinkova O, Bejanyan N, Faramand RG, Elmariah H, Khimani F, Davila ML, Mishra A, Blue B, Grajales-Cruz AF, Castaneda Puglianini O, Liu H, Nishihori T, Freeman CL, Brayer J, Shain KH, Baz R, Locke FL, Alsina M, Sidana S, Hansen DK. Early cytopenias and infections after standard of care idecabtagene vicleucel in relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. Blood Adv. 2022 Dec.6(24):6109-6119. Pubmedid: 35939783. Pmcid: PMC9768247.
• Rose A, Grajales-Cruz A, Lim A, Todd A, Bello C, Shah B, Chavez J, Pinilla-Ibartz J, Saeed H, Sandoval-Sus J, Isenalumhe L, Sokol L. Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma: Clinicopathologic Features, Prognostic Factors, and Outcomes From a 28-Year Single Institutional Experience. Clin Lymphoma Myeloma Leuk. 2021 Feb.21(2):132-138. Pubmedid: 32950461.
• Mato AR, Roeker LE, Jacobs R, Hill BT, Lamanna N, Brander D, Shadman M, Ujjani CS, Sarraf Yazdy M, Perini GF, Pinilla-Ibarz JA, Barrientos J, Skarbnik AP, Torka P, Pu JJ, Pagel JM, Gohil S, Fakhri B, Choi M, Coombs CC, Rhodes J, Barr PM, Portell CA, Parry H, Garcia CA, Whitaker KJ, Winter AM, Sitlinger A, Khajavian S, Grajales-Cruz AF, Isaac KM, Shah P, Akhtar OS, Pocock R, Lam K, Voorhees TJ, Schuster SJ, Rodgers TD, Fox CP, Martinez-Calle N, Munir T, Bhavsar EB, Bailey N, Lee JC, Weissbrot HB, Nabhan C, Goodfriend JM, King AC, Zelenetz AD, Dorsey C, Bigelow K, Cheson BD, Allan JN, Eyre TA. Assessment of the Efficacy of Therapies Following Venetoclax Discontinuation in CLL Reveals BTK Inhibition as an Effective Strategy. Clin Cancer Res. 2020 Jul.26(14):3589-3596. Pubmedid: 32198151. Pmcid: PMC8588795.
• Grajales-Cruz A, Baco-Viera F, Rive-Mora E, Ramirez-Tanchez C, Tasso D, Arroyo-Portela N, Calderon E, Padua-Octaviani IJ, Caceres-Perkins W. Primary Adrenal Angiosarcoma: A Rare and Potentially Misdiagnosed Tumor. Cancer Control. 2017 Apr.24(2):198-201. Pubmedid: 28441375. Pmcid: PMC5483322.

• Title: Real-World Patient Characteristics, Utilization, and Outcomes of Teclistamab at Moffitt Cancer Center – A Multiphase Chart Review Study
  Award Number: 24-0166, Amendment 1
  Sponsor: JANSSEN RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
  Grajales-Cruz, A. (PD/PI), Hansen, D. (Co-PD/PI)