James Yao

James Yao is a Senior Professor at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, where his research integrates oncology, radiation oncology, pharmacology, and clinical epidemiology. His recent work focuses on novel immunotherapy combinations for esophageal and gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma, including perioperative chemotherapy with atezolizumab and tiragolumab. He also investigates pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma biology, particularly the role of PPARδ as a tumor accelerator, and develops patient-derived cancer models for gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. Yao has led pivotal analyses of fruquintinib in refractory metastatic colorectal cancer, examining safety and health-related quality of life from the FRESCO-2 trial. His contributions span cancer treatment, pathology, and translational research, with publications in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, JAMA Network Open, and Cancer Letters.