Jonathan Metts, MD

My research focuses on novel therapies for relapsed/refractory pediatric sarcomas and other solid tumors. This research into the biology of relapsed disease, outcomes of relapsed sarcoma patients, and development of novel chemotherapeutic and immunotherapeutic approaches to relapsed pediatric sarcoma and other solid tumors.

Associations

• Sarcoma
• Cancer Biology & Evolution Program

1. I study the development of novel therapies for high-risk and relapsed pediatric solid tumors, which confer dismal prognosis with very few therapeutic advances over the last 20 years. I have first-authored Phase I trial publications in relapsed CNS tumors and pediatric solid tumors. I am PI of multiple ongoing relapsed solid tumor studies I am currently engaged with Children’s Oncology Group to perform multiple secondary analyses on children treated on clinical trials with rhabdomyosarcoma. I have developed a robust Phase I trial program at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital, Moffitt's pediatric affiliate, for children with relapsed/refractory solid tumors. I am also engaged with the Moffitt Immunology Department on the study of TIL in pediatric solid tumors, including the development of the first Phase I trial of TIL therapy in pediatric solid tumors.

Clinical Trial 23281
Metastatic Ewing s Trial Testing Schedule Enhancement to Improve Outcomes
Condition: Sarcoma
Intervention: Actinomycin D (Dactinomycin); Adriamycin (doxorubicin); CPT-11 (irinotecan); Cabozantinib (XL 184); Camptosar (irinotecan); Dactinomycin (); Doxil (doxorubicin liposome); Etoposide (); Ifosfamide (); Radiotherapy (); Topotecan (); Vincristine (); cyclophosphamide (); cytoxan (cyclophosphamide); doxorubicin (); doxorubicin liposome (); irinotecan ()
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.

• Metts J, Ginn K, He Z, Keesari R, Cook JC, Senn S, Schink M, Sansil S, Yin H, Cash T. A Phase I Trial of Nab-Paclitaxel in Combination With Gemcitabine for Relapsed/Refractory Pediatric Solid Tumors. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2025 Oct.e32102. Pubmedid: 41088849.
• Metts J, Rodriguez-Valentin M, Hensel J, Alfaro A, Snyder CW, Binitie O, Chebli C, Monforte H, Pilon-Thomas S, Mullinax J. Expansion of tumor-infiltrating and marrow-infiltrating lymphocytes from pediatric malignant solid tumors. Cytotherapy. 2025 Jan.27(1):29-35. Pubmedid: 39243253. Pmcid: PMC11668621.
• Crane JN, Douglass DP, Oberoi S, Collins NB, Gupta A, Metts JL, Avutu V, Dela Cruz FS, Davis JL, Federman NC, Hiniker SM, Laetsch TW, Linardic CM, Navid F, Saab R, Shulman DS, Shern JF, Soragni A, Stewart EA, Terezakis S, Weigel BJ, Weiss AR. Prioritization of novel agents for further investigation in pediatric non-rhabdomyosarcoma soft tissue sarcomas: A report from the Children's Oncology Group. Eur J Cancer. 2025 Aug.226:115600. Pubmedid: 40651390. Pmcid: PMC12409922.
• Underdown MJ, Kappa S, Metts J, Cash T. Ewing Sarcoma, Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumor, and Other Round Cell Sarcomas. Hematol Oncol Clin North Am. 2025 Aug.39(4):709-726. Pubmedid: 40374389. Pmcid: PMC12232455.
• Shaw PH, Castellino SM, Metts J, Guerrettaz R, Hayes-Lattin B, De Sa H, Bleyer A. Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology in the United States in 2025: Finding Its Place in the Oncology World-Part 1 of 2. J Pediat Hematol Onc. 2025 Aug.47(6):265-278. Pubmedid: 40549895.
• Terwisscha van Scheltinga S, Schoot RA, Routh JC, Seitz G, Kao SC, de Keizer B, Shulkin B, Ewijk RV, McCarville B, Casey D, Allen-Rhoades W, Mercolini F, Merks H, Orbach D, Kapadia T, Walterhouse DO, Davila Fajardo R, Hiemcke-Jiwa L, Franzius C, De Corti F, Tang V, Metts J, Oberoi S, Vokuhl C, Dasgupta R, Birz S, Rodeberg D. Lymph Node Staging and Treatment in Pediatric Patients With Soft Tissue Sarcomas: A Consensus Opinion From the Children's Oncology Group, European paediatric Soft Tissue Sarcoma Study Group, and the Cooperative Weichteilsarkom Studiengruppe. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2025 Apr.72(4):e31538. Pubmedid: 39844722. Pmcid: PMC12083081.
• Reed DR, Tulpule A, Metts J, Trucco M, Robertson-Tessi M, O'Donohue TJ, Iglesias-Cardenas F, Isakoff MS, Mauguen A, Shukla N, Dela Cruz FS, Tap W, Kentsis A, Morris CD, Hameed M, Honeyman JN, Behr GG, Sulis ML, Ortiz MV, Slotkin E. Pediatric Leukemia Roadmaps Are a Guide for Positive Metastatic Bone Sarcoma Trials. J Clin Oncol. 2024 Sep.42(25):2955-2960. Pubmedid: 38843482.
• Hauk I, Gonzalez-Gomes I, Chellapandian D, Metts J, Shaw PH. Refractory juvenile xanthogranuloma of the mastoid bone responsive to trametinib. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2024 Oct.71(10):e31211. Pubmedid: 39030859.
• Metts JL, Aye JM, Crane JN, Oberoi S, Balis FM, Bhatia S, Bona K, Carleton B, Dasgupta R, Dela Cruz FS, Greenzang KA, Kaufman JL, Linardic CM, Parsons SK, Robertson-Tessi M, Rudzinski ER, Soragni A, Stewart E, Weigel BJ, Wolden SL, Weiss AR, Venkatramani R, Heske CM. Roadmap for the next generation of Children's Oncology Group rhabdomyosarcoma trials. Cancer. 2024 Nov.130(22):3785-3796. Pubmedid: 38941509. Pmcid: PMC11511643.
• Metts J, Xue W, Gao Z, Oberoi S, Weiss AR, Venkatramani R, Harrison DJ. Event-free survival in relapsed and refractory rhabdomyosarcoma treated on cooperative group phase II trials: A report from the Children's Oncology Group. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2024 Jul.71(7):e31009. Pubmedid: 38627882. Pmcid: PMC11180298.
• Karadimas T, Huynh TH, Chose C, Zervoudakis G, Clampitt B, Lapp S, Joyce D, Letson GD, Metts J, Binitie O, Mullinax JE, Lazarides A. Oncolytic Viral Therapy in Osteosarcoma. Viruses. 2024 Jul.16(7). Pubmedid: 39066301. Pmcid: PMC11281467.
• Farrar A, Blanco P, Fabbrini A, Armstrong L, Metts J, Monforte H, Karjoo S, Danielson P, Wilsey M. Appendiceal mucinous neoplasm in adolescence: Diagnosis, management, and surveillance. JPGN Rep. 2024 Feb.5(1):66-69. Pubmedid: 38545266. Pmcid: PMC10964329.
• Dhir A, Hayashi M, Bodlak A, Oesterheld J, Loeb DM, Mascarenhas L, Isakoff MS, Sandler ES, Borinstein SC, Trucco M, Lagmay JP, Setty BA, Pratilas CA, Caywood E, Metts J, Yin H, Fridley B, Yin J, Laborde J, Reed DR, Adams DL, Wagner LM. Phase II Trial of Gemcitabine and Nab-Paclitaxel for Recurrent Osteosarcoma with Serial Monitoring Using Liquid Biopsy: A Report from the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation. Clin Cancer Res. 2024 Dec.30(23):5314-5322. Pubmedid: 39360936.
• Cho S, Fierstein JL, Khalaf RT, Morrison JM, Metts J. Blood Transfusion and Survival of Children, Adolescent, and Young Adult Patients with Osteosarcoma: A Multicenter Retrospective Cohort Study. Cancers (Basel). 2024 Dec.17(1). Pubmedid: 39796726. Pmcid: PMC11719514.
• Cho S, Miller A, Mosha M, McNerney KO, Metts J. Clinical Trials on Cellular Therapy for Children and Adolescents With Cancer: A 15-Year Trend in the United States. Cureus. 2023 Oct.15(10):e47885. Pubmedid: 38021600. Pmcid: PMC10681796.
• Welch DL, Fridley BL, Cen L, Teer JK, Yoder SJ, Pettersson F, Xu L, Cheng CH, Zhang Y, Alexandrow MG, Xiang S, Robertson-Tessi M, Brown JS, Metts J, Brohl AS, Reed DR. Modeling phenotypic heterogeneity towards evolutionarily inspired osteosarcoma therapy. Sci Rep. 2023 Nov.13(1):20125. Pubmedid: 37978271. Pmcid: PMC10656496.
• Metts J, Xue W, Gao Z, Ermoian R, Bradley JA, Arnold MA, Dasgupta R, Venkatramani R, Walterhouse D. Survival of patients with orbital and eyelid rhabdomyosarcoma treated on Children's Oncology Group studies from 1997 to 2013: A report from the Children's Oncology Group. Cancer. 2023 Jun.129(11):1735-1743. Pubmedid: 36857314. Pmcid: PMC10288338.
• Shaw PH, Metts J, Amankwah E, Eslin DE, Bradfield S, Slayton WB, Hays B, Calkins B, Rico J, Krischer J. Trends in Pediatric Cancer Care in Florida From 1981-2020: Changing Patterns in a Growing and Increasingly Diverse Population. Cureus. 2023 Feb.15(2):e35061. Pubmedid: 36938203. Pmcid: PMC10023130.
• Metts JL, Trucco M, Weiser DA, Thompson P, Sandler E, Smith T, Crimella J, Sansil S, Thapa R, Fridley BL, Llosa N, Badgett T, Gorlick R, Reed D, Gill J. A phase I trial of metformin in combination with vincristine, irinotecan, and temozolomide in children with relapsed or refractory solid and central nervous system tumors: A report from the national pediatric cancer foundation. Cancer Med. 2023 Feb.12(4):4270-4281. Pubmedid: 36151773. Pmcid: PMC9972017.
• Morris D, Gonzalez R, Cook J, Metts J, Shaw P. Gastrointestinal Complications of Intra-Abdominal Desmoid Tumors: A Case Report and Review of the Literature. Case Rep Oncol. 2022 May.15(2):515-521. Pubmedid: 35813700. Pmcid: PMC9209997.
• Metts J, Harrington B, Salman E, Bradfield SM, Flanary J, Mosha M, Amankwah E, Stapleton S. A phase I study of irinotecan and temozolomide with bevacizumab in children with recurrent/refractory central nervous system tumors. Childs Nerv Syst. 2022 May.38(5):919-928. Pubmedid: 35260913.
• Hensel J, Metts J, Gupta A, Ladle BH, Pilon-Thomas S, Mullinax J. Adoptive Cellular Therapy for Pediatric Solid Tumors: Beyond Chimeric Antigen Receptor-T Cell Therapy. Cancer J. 2022 Jul.28(4):322-327. Pubmedid: 35880942. Pmcid: PMC9847472.
• Metts J, Russell T, Reed D, Trucco M. A Proposed Trial Design for the Treatment of Widely Metastatic Ewing Sarcoma Inspired by Evolutionary Dynamics. Cancers (Basel). 2022 Jan.14(3). Pubmedid: 35159003. Pmcid: PMC8833360.
• Gaefke CL, Metts J, Imanirad D, Nieves D, Terranova P, Dell'Orso G, Gambineri E, Miano M, Lockey RF, Walter JE, Westermann-Clark E. Case Report: A Novel Pathogenic Missense Mutation in FAS: A Multi-Generational Case Series of Autoimmune Lymphoproliferative Syndrome. Front Pediatr. 2021 Mar.9:624116. Pubmedid: 33816397. Pmcid: PMC8012668.
• Wang Z, Mi T, Bradley HL, Metts J, Sabnis H, Zhu W, Arbiser J, Bunting KD. Pimozide and Imipramine Blue Exploit Mitochondrial Vulnerabilities and Reactive Oxygen Species to Cooperatively Target High Risk Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Antioxidants (Basel). 2021 Jun.10(6). Pubmedid: 34203664. Pmcid: PMC8232307.
• Westermann-Clark E, Meehan CA, Meyer AK, Dasso JF, Amre D, Ellison M, Patel B, Betensky M, Hauk CI, Mayer J, Metts J, Leiding JW, Sriaroon P, Kumar A, Ayala I, Walter JE. Primary Immunodeficiency in Children With Autoimmune Cytopenias: Retrospective 154-Patient Cohort. Front Immunol. 2021 Apr.12:649182. Pubmedid: 33968040. Pmcid: PMC8100326.
• Sabnis HS, Minson KA, Monroe C, Allen K, Metts JL, Cooper TM, Woods WG, Castellino SM, Keller FG. A strategy to reduce cumulative anthracycline exposure in low-risk pediatric acute myeloid leukemia while maintaining favorable outcomes. Leuk Res. 2020 Sep.96:106421. Pubmedid: 32683126.
• Reed DR, Metts J, Pressley M, Fridley BL, Hayashi M, Isakoff MS, Loeb DM, Makanji R, Roberts RD, Trucco M, Wagner LM, Alexandrow MG, Gatenby RA, Brown JS. An evolutionary framework for treating pediatric sarcomas. Cancer. 2020 Jun.126(11):2577-2587. Pubmedid: 32176331. Pmcid: PMC7318114.
• Metts JL, Park SI, Briones MA, Keller FG. Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis Secondary to T Cell/Histiocyte-rich Large B Cell Lymphoma in an Adolescent Male. Pediatr Dev Pathol. 2019 May.21(1):95-99. Pubmedid: 29187030.
• Metts JL, Alazraki AL, Clark D, Amankwah EK, Wasilewski-Masker KJ, George BA, Olson TA, Cash T. Gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel for pediatric relapsed/refractory sarcomas. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2018 Sep.65(9):e27246. Pubmedid: 29770997.
• Metts JL, Park SI, Soares BP, Fong C, Biegel JA, Goldsmith KC. Concurrent myeloid sarcoma, atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor, and hypereosinophilia in an infant with a germline SMARCB1 mutation. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2017 Sep.64(9). Pubmedid: 28111898.
• Metts J, Bradley HL, Wang Z, Shah NP, Kapur R, Arbiser JL, Bunting KD. Imipramine blue sensitively and selectively targets FLT3-ITD positive acute myeloid leukemia cells. Sci Rep. 2017 Jun.7(1):4447. Pubmedid: 28667329. Pmcid: PMC5493614.

• Title: The Sunshine Project 2024-2028
  Award Number: n/a
  Sponsor: PEDIATRIC CANCER FOUNDATION
  Metts, J. (PD/PI)
• Title: Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocyte Therapy for High-Risk Solid Tumors
  Award Number: N/A
  Sponsor: Cannonball Kids' cancer Foundation
  Metts, J. (PD/PI)
• Title: Feasibility of Generating Novel Translational and Therapeutic Strategies based on a Multicenter, Pediatric and AYA Evolutionary Tumor Board; pedsETB
  Award Number: 23L11
  Sponsor: Florida Department of Health
  Metts, J. (PD/PI), Anderson, A. (Co-PD/PI), Brown, J. (Co-PD/PI), Marusyk, A. (Co-PD/PI), Robertson-Tessi, M. (Co-PD/PI)
• Title: Metastatic Ewing Sarcoma Trial Testing Schedule Enhancements to Improve Outcomes
  Award Number: 24L03
  Sponsor: Florida Department of Health
  Metts, J. (PD/PI)

Voted top doctor in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology in Tampa Magazine's Top Doctors 2025.

Voted top doctor in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology in Tampa Magazine's Top Doctors 2024.