Kedar Kirtane, MD

Cancer Focus:
Adrenal Cancer, Head and Neck Cancer, Thyroid Cancer

Dr. Kirtane is an  Assistant Member in the Department of Head and Neck-Endocrine Oncology and Medical Director for Solid Tumor Cellular Therapy. Dr. Kirtane received his MD degree from The University of Florida College of Medicine. He completed an Internal Medicine Residency at Duke University Medical Center. Dr. Kirtane completed a Hematology/Oncology Fellowship at the University of Washington and a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Oncology at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. His clinical focus is patients with head and neck-endocrine cancers. He works on the development of innovative cellular therapies for solid tumor cancers and is focused on increasing representation of underrepresented groups to clinical trials.

Education & Training

Fellowship:

• University of Washington - Hematology/Oncology
• Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center - Oncology

Residency:

• Duke University - Internal Medicine

Medical School:

• University of Florida - MD

Clinical Trial 21131
A Phase II Randomized Trial of Adjuvant Therapy with Pembrolizumab After Resection of Recurrent/Second Primary Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma with High Risk Features
Condition: Head & Neck
Intervention: Paraplatin (carboplatin); Pembrolizumab (Keytruda); Radiotherapy (); carboplatin (); cisplatin ()
Status: Open

Clinical Trial 21589
BASECAMP-1: An Observational Study Obtaining Solid Tumor Tissue from Subjects with Primary Surgical Resection and Leukapheresis for CAR T-Cell Therapy Manufacturing
Condition: Immunotherapy
Status: Open

Clinical Trial 23376
A Phase 3 Open-Label, Randomized, Controlled Study to Evaluate he Efficacy And Safety of Petosemtamab Compared with Investigator's Choice Monotherapy Treatment in Previously Treated Patients with Incurable, Metastatic/Recurrent Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Condition: Head & Neck
Intervention: Cetuximab (); Erbitux (Cetuximab); Petosemtamab (); Taxotere (docetaxel); docetaxel (); methotrexate ()
Status: Open

Clinical Trial 23553
DENALI-1: A Seamless Phase 1/2 Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of A2B395, an Allogeneic Logic-gated Tmod CAR T, in Heterozygous HLA A*02 Adults with Recurrent Unresectable, Locally Advanced, or Metastatic Solid Tumors That Express EGFR and Have Lost HLA A*02 Expression.
Condition: Immunotherapy
Intervention: A2B395 (); MESNA (); cyclophosphamide (); cytoxan (cyclophosphamide); fludarabine (Fludarabine phosphate)
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.

• Park R, Rind F, Kristoff T, Li J, Schell M, Slebos RJC, Thatikonda S, Chaudhary R, Biernacki MI, Meshkovska Y, Kaldas D, Kim HS, Farinhas J, Hernandez-Prera J, Kirtane K, Hall MS, Amelio AL, Rocco JW, Bhateja P, Steuer C, Bonomi M, Saba NF, Chung CH. Evaluation of Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio in Patients With Recurrent and/or Metastatic Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Treated With a Combination of Cetuximab and Nivolumab in a Phase II Clinical Trial. Am J Clin Oncol. 2025 Sep. Pubmedid: 40905435.
• Gudenkauf LM, Tometich DB, Hoogland AI, Li X, Kirtane K, Small BJ, Barata A, Gonzalez BD, Jacobs KD, Chung CH, Shafique MR, Gray J, Khushalani NI, Postow MA, Cella D, Webster KA, Dicker AP, Jim HSL. Validation of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - Immune Checkpoint Modulator 17-Item Symptom Index (FACT-ICM-17) to facilitate implementation in research and clinical care. Cancer. 2025 Oct.131(20):e70102. Pubmedid: 41045471.
• Chaudhary R, Moorhead G, Park R, Li J, Schell MJ, Song X, Tan A, Slebos RJC, Biernacki MI, Freeman SS, Thatikonda S, Meshkovska Y, Hernandez-Prera J, Kirtane K, Guevara-Patino JA, Amelio AL, Rocco JW, Danysh BP, Bonomi M, Saba NF, Haradhvala NJ, Getz G, Chung CH. Long-term Survival and Molecular Biomarker Evaluation of a Phase II Cetuximab and Nivolumab Clinical Trial in Recurrent/Metastatic Head and Neck Cancer. Clin Cancer Res. 2025 Oct. Pubmedid: 41117857. Pmcid: PMC12667737.
• Rollison DE, Garcia MA, Amorrortu RP, Zhao Y, Mittman B, Turner K, Kirtane K, Soliman H, Byrne MM, Meade C, Gwede CK, Eschrich S, Yin J, Stanley NB, Fuzzell L, Hernandez D, Tapia-Kwan E, Vadaparampil ST. Design of a cluster randomized multi-level intervention to decrease barriers to minority cancer patient referral and enrollment to cancer clinical trials: The ACT WONDER2S study. Contemp Clin Trials. 2025 Nov.158:108096. Pubmedid: 40992541.
• Chen X, Beilman B, Gibbs HD, Hamilton JL, Parker N, Bur AM, Caudell JJ, Gan GN, Hamilton-Reeves JM, Jim HSL, Kirtane K, Lominska C, Crowder SL, Arthur AE. Nutrition in head and neck cancer care: a roadmap and call for research. Lancet Oncol. 2025 Jun.26(6):e300-e310. Pubmedid: 40449504.
• Echevarria M, Park R, Caudell JJ, Kim Y, Yang GQ, Kirtane K, Chaudhary R, Kumar S, Amelio AL, Giuliano AR, Chung CH. Plasma Cell-Free Human Papillomavirus DNA and Oral Gargle HPV DNA in Patients with HPV-Related Oropharyngeal Cancer Treated with Radiotherapy. Cancer Res Commun. 2025 Jul.5(7):1194-1202. Pubmedid: 40643202. Pmcid: PMC12281097.
• Reblin M, Liang I, Tay DL, Kirtane K, Ketcher D. The patient and caregiver experience of CAR T-cell therapy: A qualitative analysis. J Psychosoc Oncol. 2025 Jan.1-11. Pubmedid: 39883430.
• Kirtane K, Puri S, Chung CH. Durable Complete Response of a Delta-Like Ligand 3 Expressing Head and Neck Neuroendocrine Carcinoma to Tarlatamab. JCO Precis Oncol. 2025 Dec.9:e2500806. Pubmedid: 41370728.
• Patil N, Ravichandran S, Messina J, Kirtane K, Phuoc V, Kubal T, Maharaj S. Cutaneous Reactions to Iron Infusions: A Case Report and Clinical Review. EJHaem. 2025 Aug.6(4):e70094. Pubmedid: 40625824. Pmcid: PMC12232973.
• Saba NF, Chaudhary R, Kirtane K, Marra A, Ekpenyong A, McCook-Veal A, Schmitt NC, Gross JH, Patel MR, Remick J, Bates JE, McDonald MW, Rudra SF, Stokes WA, Biernacki M, Song X, Slebos RJC, Liu Y, Steuer CE, Shin DM, Teng Y, Chung CH. Pembrolizumab and Cabozantinib in Recurrent and/or Metastatic Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Long-term Survival Update with a Biomarker Analysis. Clin Cancer Res. 2024 Oct.30(20):4601-4608. Pubmedid: 39167623. Pmcid: PMC11479816.
• LaVigne AW, Doss VL, Berizzi D, Johnston FM, Kiess AP, Kirtane KS, Moghanaki D, Roumeliotis M, Yang GQ, Viswanathan AN. The History and Future of Multidisciplinary Cancer Care. Semin Radiat Oncol. 2024 Oct.34(4):441-451. Pubmedid: 39271279.
• Gainor JF, Patel MR, Weber JS, Gutierrez M, Bauman JE, Clarke JM, Julian R, Scott AJ, Geiger JL, Kirtane K, Robert-Tissot C, Coder B, Tasneem M, Sun J, Zheng W, Gerbereux L, Laino A, Porichis F, Russella Pollard J, Hou P, Sehgal V, Chen X, Morrissey M, Daghestani HN, Feldman I, Srinivasan L, Frederick JP, Brown M, Aanur P, Meehan R, Burris HA. T-cell Responses to Individualized Neoantigen Therapy mRNA-4157 (V940) Alone or in Combination with Pembrolizumab in the Phase 1 KEYNOTE-603 Study. Cancer Discov. 2024 Nov.14(11):2209-2223. Pubmedid: 39115419.
• Geiss C, Hoogland AI, Arredondo B, Rodriguez Y, Bryant C, Chung CH, Patel KB, Gonzalez BD, Jim HSL, Kirtane K, Oswald LB. Psychosocial consequences of head and neck cancer symptom burden after chemoradiation: a mixed-method study. Support Care Cancer. 2024 Mar.32(4):254. Pubmedid: 38538780. Pmcid: PMC11062256.
• Park R, Li J, Slebos RJC, Chaudhary R, Poole MI, Ferraris C, Farinhas J, Hernandez-Prera J, Kirtane K, Teer JK, Song X, Hall MS, Tasoulas J, Amelio AL, Chung CH. Phase Ib trial of IRX-2 plus durvalumab in patients with recurrent and/or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Oral Oncol. 2024 Jul.154:106866. Pubmedid: 38820888.
• Tasoulas J, Schrank TP, Bharambe H, Mehta J, Johnson S, Divaris K, Hackman TG, Sheth S, Kirtane K, Hernandez-Prera JC, Chung CH, Yarbrough WG, Ferrarotto R, Issaeva N, Theocharis S, Amelio AL. Molecular characterization of the salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma immune landscape by anatomic subsites. Sci Rep. 2024 Jul.14(1):15821. Pubmedid: 38982149. Pmcid: PMC11233590.
• Lee B, Chehab SS, Fan W, Schell MJ, Kirtane KS, Shah AB. Safety outcomes of pembrolizumab with platinum agent chemotherapy combined with 5-fluorouracil or taxane derivative in head and neck cancer. J Oncol Pharm Pract. 2024 Dec.30(8):1397-1402. Pubmedid: 38043938. Pmcid: PMC11590380.
• Saba NF, Steuer CE, Ekpenyong A, McCook-Veal A, Magliocca K, Patel M, Schmitt NC, Stokes W, Bates JE, Rudra S, Remick J, McDonald M, Abousaud M, Tan AC, Fadlullah MZH, Chaudhary R, Muzaffar J, Kirtane K, Liu Y, Chen GZ, Shin DM, Teng Y, Chung CH. Author Correction: Pembrolizumab and cabozantinib in recurrent metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: a phase 2 trial. Nat Med. 2024 Aug.30(8):2373. Pubmedid: 38956200.
• Lozac'hmeur A, Danek T, Yang Q, Rosasco MG, Welch JS, Go WY, Ng EW, Mardiros A, Maloney DG, Garon EB, Kirtane K, Simeone DM, Molina JR, Salahudeen AA, Stein MM, Hecht JR. Detecting HLA loss of heterozygosity within a standard diagnostic sequencing workflow for prognostic and therapeutic opportunities. NPJ Precis Oncol. 2024 Aug.8(1):174. Pubmedid: 39103508. Pmcid: PMC11300791.
• 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.
• Echevarria MI, Yang GQ, Chen DT, Kirtane K, Russell J, Kish J, Muzaffar J, Otto K, Padhya T, McMullen C, Patel K, Chung CH, Caudell JJ. Phase 1 Dose Escalation of Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy and Concurrent Cisplatin for Reirradiation of Unresectable, Recurrent Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2023 Oct.117(2):341-347. Pubmedid: 37105404.
• Gharzai LA, Mierzwa ML, Peipert JD, Kirtane K, Casper K, Yadav P, Rothrock N, Cella D, Shaunfield S. Monitoring Adverse Effects of Radiation Therapy in Patients With Head and Neck Cancer: The FACT-HN-RAD Patient-Reported Outcome Measure. JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2023 Oct.149(10):884-890. Pubmedid: 37589994. Pmcid: PMC10436187.
• Kirtane K, Zhao Y, Amorrortu RP, Fuzzell LN, Vadaparampil ST, Rollison DE. Demographic disparities in receipt of care at a comprehensive cancer center. Cancer Med. 2023 Jun.12(12):13687-13700. Pubmedid: 37114585. Pmcid: PMC10315757.
• Turner K, Stover AM, Tometich DB, Geiss C, Mason A, Nguyen OT, Hume E, McCormick R, Powell S, Hallanger-Johnson J, Patel KB, Kirtane KS, Jammigumpula N, Moore C, Perkins R, Rollison DE, Jim HSL, Oswald LB, Crowder S, Gonzalez BD, Robinson E, Tabriz AA, Islam JY, Gilbert SM. Oncology Providers' and Professionals' Experiences With Suicide Risk Screening Among Patients With Head and Neck Cancer: A Qualitative Study. JCO Oncol Pract. 2023 Jun.19(6):e892-e903. Pubmedid: 36395441. Pmcid: PMC10337750.
• Kirtane K, Hoogland AI, Li X, Rodriguez Y, Scheel K, Small BJ, Oswald LB, Muzaffar J, Kish JA, Bonomi M, Bhateja P, Saba NF, Steuer CE, Chung CH, Jim HSL. Patient-reported outcomes in immunotherapy for head and neck cancer. Head Neck. 2023 Jul.45(7):1761-1771. Pubmedid: 37141438.
• Kirtane K, Reblin M, Oswald LB, Irizarry-Arroyo N, McCormick R, Locke FL, Ketcher D. Psychosocial characteristics of patients undergoing cellular immunotherapies and their caregivers across time. Leuk Lymphoma. 2023 Feb.64(2):364-370. Pubmedid: 36416677. Pmcid: PMC10329860.
• Yilmaz E, Ismaila N, Bauman JE, Dabney R, Gan G, Jordan R, Kaufman M, Kirtane K, McBride SM, Old MO, Rooper L, Saba NF, Sheth S, Subramaniam RM, Wise-Draper TM, Wong D, Mell LK. Immunotherapy and Biomarker Testing in Recurrent and Metastatic Head and Neck Cancers: ASCO Guideline. J Clin Oncol. 2023 Feb.41(5):1132-1146. Pubmedid: 36521102.
• Saba NF, Steuer CE, Ekpenyong A, McCook-Veal A, Magliocca K, Patel M, Schmitt NC, Stokes W, Bates JE, Rudra S, Remick J, McDonald M, Abousaud M, Tan AC, Fadlullah MZH, Chaudhary R, Muzaffar J, Kirtane K, Liu Y, Chen GZ, Shin DM, Teng Y, Chung CH. Pembrolizumab and cabozantinib in recurrent metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: a phase 2 trial. Nat Med. 2023 Apr.29(4):880-887. Pubmedid: 37012550. Pmcid: PMC10205145.
• Oswald LB, Arredondo B, Geiss C, Vigoureux TFD, Hoogland AI, Chung CH, Muzaffar J, Patel KB, Gonzalez BD, Jim HSL, Kirtane K. Considerations for developing supportive care interventions for survivors of head and neck cancer: A qualitative study. Psychooncology. 2022 Sep.31(9):1519-1526. Pubmedid: 35726386. Pmcid: PMC9452460.
• Kirtane KS, Jim HS, Gonzalez BD, Oswald LB. Promise of Patient-Reported Outcomes, Biometric Data, and Remote Monitoring for Adoptive Cellular Therapy. JCO Clin Cancer Inform. 2022 May.6:e2200013. Pubmedid: 35561286.
• Oswald LB, Li X, Carvajal R, Hoogland AI, Gudenkauf LM, Hansen DK, Alsina M, Locke FL, Rodriguez Y, Irizarry-Arroyo N, Robinson EJ, Jim HSL, Gonzalez BD, Kirtane K. Longitudinal Collection of Patient-Reported Outcomes and Activity Data during CAR-T Therapy: Feasibility, Acceptability, and Data Visualization. Cancers (Basel). 2022 May.14(11). Pubmedid: 35681722. Pmcid: PMC9179384.
• Kirtane K, Geiss C, Arredondo B, Hoogland AI, Chung CH, Muzaffar J, Patel KB, Gonzalez BD, Jim HSL, Oswald LB. "I have cancer during COVID; that's a special category": a qualitative study of head and neck cancer patient and provider experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Support Care Cancer. 2022 May.30(5):4337-4344. Pubmedid: 35091844. Pmcid: PMC8799415.
• Oswald LB, Brownstein NC, Whiting J, Hoogland AI, Saravia S, Kirtane K, Chung CH, Vinci C, Gonzalez BD, Johnstone PAS, Jim HSL. Smoking Is Related to Worse Cancer-related Symptom Burden. Oncologist. 2022 Mar.27(2):e176-e184. Pubmedid: 35641215. Pmcid: PMC8895733.
• Chung CH, Li J, Steuer CE, Bhateja P, Johnson M, Masannat J, Poole MI, Song F, Hernandez-Prera JC, Molina H, Wenig BM, Kumar S, Kuperwasser C, Stephens PJ, Farinhas JM, Shin DM, Kish JA, Muzaffar J, Kirtane K, Rocco JW, Schell MJ, Saba NF, Bonomi M. Phase II Multi-institutional Clinical Trial Result of Concurrent Cetuximab and Nivolumab in Recurrent and/or Metastatic Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Clin Cancer Res. 2022 Jun.28(11):2329-2338. Pubmedid: 35344035. Pmcid: PMC9167762.
• Wang X, Muzaffar J, Kirtane K, Song F, Johnson M, Schell MJ, Li J, Yoder SJ, Conejo-Garcia JR, Guevara-Patino JA, Bonomi M, Bhateja P, Rocco JW, Steuer CE, Saba NF, Chung CH. T cell repertoire in peripheral blood as a potential biomarker for predicting response to concurrent cetuximab and nivolumab in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. J Immunother Cancer. 2022 Jun.10(6). Pubmedid: 35676062. Pmcid: PMC9185557.
• Barata A, Hoogland AI, Kommalapati A, Logue J, Welniak T, Hyland KA, Eisel SL, Small BJ, Jayani RV, Booth-Jones M, Oswald LB, Gonzalez BD, Kirtane KS, Jain MD, Mokhtari S, Chavez JC, Lazaryan A, Shah BD, Locke FL, Jim HSL. Change in Patients' Perceived Cognition Following Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell Therapy for Lymphoma. Transplant Cell Ther. 2022 Jul.28(7):401.e1-401.e7. Pubmedid: 35580732. Pmcid: PMC9339228.
• Kirtane K, St John M, Fuentes-Bayne H, Patel SP, Mardiros A, Xu H, Ng EW, Go WY, Wong DJ, Sunwoo JB, Welch JS. Genomic Immune Evasion: Diagnostic and Therapeutic Opportunities in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinomas. J Clin Med. 2022 Dec.11(24). Pubmedid: 36555876. Pmcid: PMC9781632.
• Kirtane KS, Zahid MU, Enderling H, Harrison LB. Reimagining Cancer Staging in the Era of Evolutionary Oncology. J Natl Compr Canc Ne. 2022 Dec.20(12):1370-1372. Pubmedid: 36509079.
• Tan E, Gakhar N, Kirtane K. TCR gene-engineered cell therapy for solid tumors. Best Pract Res Clin Haematol. 2021 Sep.34(3):101285. Pubmedid: 34625228.
• Chung CH, Bonomi M, Steuer CE, Li J, Bhateja P, Johnson M, Masannat J, Song F, Hernandez-Prera JC, Wenig BM, Molina H, Farinhas JM, McMullen CP, Wadsworth JT, Patel KB, Kish JA, Muzaffar J, Kirtane K, Rocco JW, Schell MJ, Saba NF. Concurrent Cetuximab and Nivolumab as a Second-Line or beyond Treatment of Patients with Recurrent and/or Metastatic Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Results of Phase I/II Study. Cancers (Basel). 2021 Mar.13(5). Pubmedid: 33803335. Pmcid: PMC7967147.
• Kirtane K, Elmariah H, Chung CH, Abate-Daga D. Adoptive cellular therapy in solid tumor malignancies: review of the literature and challenges ahead. J Immunother Cancer. 2021 Jul.9(7). Pubmedid: 34301811. Pmcid: PMC8311333.
• Muzaffar J, Bari S, Kirtane K, Chung CH. Recent Advances and Future Directions in Clinical Management of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Cancers (Basel). 2021 Jan.13(2). Pubmedid: 33477635. Pmcid: PMC7831487.
• Naffouje SA, Sabesan A, Hallanger-Johnson J, Kirtane K, Gonzalez RJ, Mullinax J. Adrenal biopsy, as a diagnostic method, is associated with decreased overall survival in patients with T1/T2 adrenocortical carcinoma: A propensity score-matched analysis. J Surg Oncol. 2021 Dec.124(8):1261-1271. Pubmedid: 34424540.
• Reckamp KL, Patil T, Kirtane K, Rich TA, Espenschied CR, Weipert CM, Raymond VM, Santana-Davila R, Doebele RC, Baik CS. Duration of Targeted Therapy in Patients With Advanced Non-small-cell Lung Cancer Identified by Circulating Tumor DNA Analysis. Clin Lung Cancer. 2020 Nov.21(6):545-552.e1. Pubmedid: 32665165. Pmcid: PMC9227978.
• Kirtane K, Roth MY. Emerging Therapies for Radioactive Iodine Refractory Thyroid Cancer. CURR TREAT OPTION ON. 2020 Feb.21(3):18. Pubmedid: 32048061.
• Loggers ET, Kirtane K, Palacios R, Lewis F. Leaving footprints, not scars: a qualitative pilot study of Hispanic mothers' willingness to communicate with dependent children about an advanced cancer diagnosis. Support Care Cancer. 2019 Apr.27(4):1573-1578. Pubmedid: 30719659. Pmcid: PMC8859975.
• Kirtane K, Downey L, Lee SJ, Curtis JR, Engelberg RA. Intensity of End-of-Life Care for Patients with Hematologic Malignancies and the Role of Race/Ethnicity. J Palliat Med. 2018 Oct.21(10):1466-1471. Pubmedid: 29975599. Pmcid: PMC6201780.
• Buckley SA, Kirtane K, Walter RB, Lee SJ, Lyman GH. Patient-reported outcomes in acute myeloid leukemia: Where are we now?. Blood Rev. 2018 Jan.32(1):81-87. Pubmedid: 28888621.
• Kirtane K, Rodriguez CP. Postoperative Combined Modality Treatment in High Risk Resected Locally Advanced Squamous Cell Carcinomas of the Head and Neck (HNSCC). Front Oncol. 2018 Dec.8:588. Pubmedid: 30564559. Pmcid: PMC6288294.
• Kirtane K, Lee SJ. Racial and ethnic disparities in hematologic malignancies. Blood. 2017 Oct.130(15):1699-1705. Pubmedid: 28724539. Pmcid: PMC5639484.

• Title: Expand clinical trial patient navigator program and strengthening community referrals in Southwest and Central Florida to increase access to a phase 1 study of a mRNA cancer vaccine and immunotherapy for patients with unresectable head and neck squamous cell carcinomas
  Award Number:
  Sponsor: Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation
  Kirtane, K. (PD/PI)