Joseph Zhao, MBBS, MRCP
Hospital ResidentAbout
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Featured Publications
Spatially Resolved Niche and Tumor Microenvironmental Alterations in Gastric Cancer Peritoneal Metastases
Zhao J, Ong C, Srivastava S, Chia D, Ma H, Huang K, Sheng T, Ramnarayanan K, Ong X, Tay S, Hagihara T, Tan A, Teo M, Tan Q, Ng G, Tan J, Ng M, Gwee Y, Walsh R, Law J, Shabbir A, Kim G, Tay Y, Her Z, Leoncini G, Teh B, Hong J, Tay R, Teo C, Dings M, Bijlsma M, Lum J, Mathur S, Pietrantonio F, Blum S, van Laarhoven H, Klempner S, Yong W, So J, Chen Q, Tan P, Sundar R. Spatially Resolved Niche and Tumor Microenvironmental Alterations in Gastric Cancer Peritoneal Metastases. Gastroenterology 2024, 167: 1384-1398.e4. PMID: 39147169, DOI: 10.1053/j.gastro.2024.08.007.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchPeritoneal metastasisTumor microenvironmentPrimary tumorTranscoelomic metastasisGastric cancerExpression of therapeutic targetsAssociated with poor prognosisGastric cancer peritoneal metastasisAssociated with increased riskHumanized mouse modelTherapeutic targetComprehensive multi-omics analysisTumor microenvironment signaturesTumor microenvironment alterationsDigital spatial profilingInvestigate molecular alterationsWhole-exome sequencingMatched normal tissuesStromal infiltrationComprehensive molecular characterizationLiver metastasesImmune compositionFGFR2b expressionImprove patient outcomesPredictive markerLow Programmed Death-Ligand 1–Expressing Subgroup Outcomes of First-Line Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Gastric or Esophageal Adenocarcinoma
Zhao J, Yap D, Chan Y, Tan B, Teo C, Syn N, Smyth E, Soon Y, Sundar R. Low Programmed Death-Ligand 1–Expressing Subgroup Outcomes of First-Line Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Gastric or Esophageal Adenocarcinoma. Journal Of Clinical Oncology 2021, 40: 392-402. PMID: 34860570, DOI: 10.1200/jco.21.01862.Peer-Reviewed Reviews, Practice Guidelines, Standards, and Consensus StatementsConceptsProgrammed death-ligand 1Combined positive scoreImmune checkpoint inhibitorsKEYNOTE-062First-line treatmentCheckMate-649Checkpoint inhibitorsEsophageal adenocarcinomaKaplan-MeierEstimate time-to-event outcomesFirst-line immune checkpoint inhibitorsPD-L1 combined positive scoreProgrammed death ligand 1 subgroupsPatients treated with pembrolizumabPD-L1-expressing tumorsRandomized phase III trialEfficacy of ICIsPD-L1 subgroupsProgression-free survivalDeath-ligand 1Phase III trialsUS Food and Drug AdministrationPrimary manuscriptsFood and Drug AdministrationCPS-1Spatial Heterogeneity, Stromal Phenotypes, and Therapeutic Vulnerabilities in Colorectal Cancer Peritoneal Metastasis
Ong C, Zhao J, Liu Y, Srivastava S, Chia D, Quek Y, Fan X, Ma H, Huang K, Sheng T, Tan Q, Ng G, Tan J, Lee J, Loo L, Chong L, Ong X, Tay S, Hagihara T, Tan A, Joseph C, Teo M, Hendrikson J, Chong C, Guo W, Chia C, Wong J, Seo C, Cai M, Tay Y, Sim K, Tay R, Walsh R, Guaglio M, Morano F, Teh M, Lum H, Lim T, Vermeulen L, Bijlsma M, Lenos K, Klempner S, Yeong J, Yong W, Pietrantonio F, Tan P, Sundar R. Spatial Heterogeneity, Stromal Phenotypes, and Therapeutic Vulnerabilities in Colorectal Cancer Peritoneal Metastasis. Clinical Cancer Research 2025, 31: 2515-2529. PMID: 40299767, PMCID: PMC12163601, DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-24-3780.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsPeritoneal metastasisPAI-1 inhibitionPrimary tumorStromal phenotypePAI-1Colorectal cancerColorectal cancer peritoneal metastasesFibrotic tumor microenvironmentSynchronous peritoneal metastasesTGF-bTGF-B pathwayTumor stroma compartmentT cell exhaustionMemory B cellsCancer-associated fibroblastsWhole-exome sequencingTranscoelomic disseminationMultiplex IHCPeritoneal lesionsSERPINE-1Tumor microenvironmentTumor profilingStromal microenvironmentT cellsGenomic aberrationsSex and outcomes of patients with microsatellite instability-high and BRAF V600E mutated metastatic colorectal cancer receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors
Nasca V, Zhao J, Ros J, Lonardi S, Zwart K, Cohen R, Fakih M, Jayachandran P, Roodhart J, Derksen J, Intini R, Bergamo F, Mazzoli G, Ghelardi F, Ligero M, Jonnagaddala J, Hawkins N, Ward R, Wankhede D, Brenner H, Hoffmeister M, Vitellaro M, Salvatore L, Gallois C, Laurent-Puig P, Cremolini C, Overman M, Taieb J, Tougeron D, Andre T, Kather J, Sundar R, Carmona J, Elez E, Koopman M, Pietrantonio F. Sex and outcomes of patients with microsatellite instability-high and BRAF V600E mutated metastatic colorectal cancer receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors. Journal For ImmunoTherapy Of Cancer 2025, 13: e010598. PMID: 39929672, PMCID: PMC11815414, DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2024-010598.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsImmune checkpoint inhibitorsMetastatic colorectal cancerProgression-free survivalCohort of patientsOverall survivalCheckpoint inhibitorsMutation statusAssociated with inferior progression-free survivalActivity of immune checkpoint inhibitorsMSI-H CRCsTreated with immune checkpoint inhibitorsColorectal cancerAnti-CTLA-4 agentsAnti-PD-(L)1 monotherapySusceptibility to anticancer therapyImmune-related adverse eventsInferior progression-free survivalActivated myeloid dendritic cellsActivated natural killer cellsTumors of malesAnti-PD-(L)1Myeloid dendritic cellsPatient outcomesMemory B cellsWild-type cohortSpatial predictors of response to chemo-immunotherapy in microsatellite stable metastatic colorectal cancer
Choo J, Zhao JJ, Lau MC, Raimondi A, Yim WWY, Ranganathan S, Zhu K, Tan CTY, Chin HX, Teo CB, Fong KY, Tay RYK, Lee JYJ, Loo LH, Manca P, Morano F, Prisciandaro M, Randon G, Damonte C, Micarelli E, Leoni G, Scarselli E, Lonardi S, Cremolini C, Marmorino F, Lim JCT, Neo ZW, Wee F, Chong LY, Joseph CR, Balachander A, Lim DG, Hwang YY, Renia L, Biswas SK, Tan D, Yeong JPS, Sundar R, Pietrantonio F. Spatial predictors of response to chemo-immunotherapy in microsatellite stable metastatic colorectal cancer. Nature Communications 2026 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-72204-2.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
2026
Long-term survival outcomes with immune checkpoint inhibition in PD-L1 low or intermediate expressing gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma
Zhao J, Pietrantonio F. Long-term survival outcomes with immune checkpoint inhibition in PD-L1 low or intermediate expressing gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma. Annals Of Oncology 2026, 37: 754-755. PMID: 41887944, DOI: 10.1016/j.annonc.2026.02.016.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
2025
Checkpoint inhibitor benefit in perioperative gastro-esophageal cancer: A meta-analysis of phase III trials
Zhao J, Yi Ng K, Sundar R, Klempner S. Checkpoint inhibitor benefit in perioperative gastro-esophageal cancer: A meta-analysis of phase III trials. Cancer Treatment Reviews 2025, 140: 103002. PMID: 40779895, DOI: 10.1016/j.ctrv.2025.103002.Peer-Reviewed Reviews, Practice Guidelines, Standards, and Consensus StatementsConceptsEvent-free survivalIntegration of immunotherapyRandomized Controlled TrialsGastro-esophageal cancerChemotherapy backboneGastroesophageal cancerOverall survivalMeta-analysis of phase III trialsAdvanced gastro-esophageal cancerLocally advanced gastroesophageal cancerSuperior event-free survivalEvent-free survival curvesLong-term follow-upGastro-esophageal adenocarcinomaPerioperative combination chemotherapyAdvanced gastroesophageal cancerMature survival dataPhase III trialsMature OS dataKaplan-Meier curvesResectable gastroesophageal cancerStandard-of-careIndividual patient dataPerioperative FLOTCombination chemotherapySpatial organization of B lymphocytes and prognosis prediction in patients with gastric cancer
Tay R, Sachdeva M, Ma H, Kim Y, Kook M, Kim H, Cheong J, Hewitt L, Nekolla K, Schmidt G, Yoshikawa T, Oshima T, Arai T, Srivastava S, Teh M, Ong X, Tay S, Sheng T, Zhao J, Tan P, Grabsch H, Sundar R. Spatial organization of B lymphocytes and prognosis prediction in patients with gastric cancer. Gastric Cancer 2025, 28: 384-396. PMID: 39971854, PMCID: PMC11993452, DOI: 10.1007/s10120-025-01593-y.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsDiffuse-type GCOverall survivalTumor microenvironmentGastric cancerB cellsPrognostic valueB lymphocytesPatients treated with adjuvant chemotherapyB cell distributionB cell densityDigital spatial profilingB cell-enrichedCD20-positiveResectable GCAdjuvant chemotherapyResected specimenTumor ROITherapy responseClinicopathological characteristicsSurvival differencesPoor prognosisCD20 immunohistochemistryIntestinal-typeJapanese cohortCLASSIC trialSpatially Resolved Tumor Ecosystems and Cell States in Gastric Adenocarcinoma Progression and Evolution
Ma H, Srivastava S, Ho S, Xu C, Lian B, Ong X, Tay S, Sheng T, Lum H, Ghani S, Chu Y, Huang K, Goh Y, Lee M, Hagihara T, Ng C, Tan A, Zhang Y, Ding Z, Zhu F, Ng M, Joseph C, Chen H, Li Z, Zhao J, Rha S, Teh M, Yeong J, Yong W, So J, Sundar R, Tan P. Spatially Resolved Tumor Ecosystems and Cell States in Gastric Adenocarcinoma Progression and Evolution. Cancer Discovery 2025, 15: 767-792. PMID: 39774838, PMCID: PMC11962405, DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.cd-24-0605.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
2024
PD-L1 expression as a negative predictive biomarker in advanced esophageal squamous-cell cancer treated with chemotherapy alone
Sachdeva M, Zhao J, Zhu K, Yap D, Wong N, Kumarakulasinghe N, Tey J, Sundar R. PD-L1 expression as a negative predictive biomarker in advanced esophageal squamous-cell cancer treated with chemotherapy alone. ESMO Gastrointestinal Oncology 2024, 7: 100109. PMID: 41646473, PMCID: PMC12836587, DOI: 10.1016/j.esmogo.2024.100109.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAdvanced esophageal squamous-cell carcinomaPD-L1 expressionProgression-free survivalFirst-line chemotherapyPD-L1Overall survivalPredictive biomarkersKaplan-MeierKaplan-Meier (KM)Estimate time-to-event outcomesPatients treated with first-line chemotherapyNegative predictor of OSPhase III randomized trialRisk of tumor progressionProgression-free survival analysisPatients treated with chemotherapyCancer treated with chemotherapyNegative predictive biomarkerNon-significant increased riskPD-L1 subgroupsPositive predictive biomarkerEsophageal squamous-cell carcinomaPredictors of OSIndividual Patient Data Meta-AnalysisResponse to immunotherapy
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