Javier CortésJavier Cortés, MD PhD

Head Breast Cancer Program
Vall d’Hebron University Hospital, Barcelona, Spain
Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology, Barcelona, Spain

Dr. Javier Cortes received a degree in Medicine and Surgery from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid in 1996. He continued his studies at the University of Navarra, specialising in Medical Oncology at the Clínica Universitaria de Navarra, where he continued as Assistant in the Department of Oncology from 2002. He was Associated Professor of Oncology in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Navarra during that period. Dr. Cortés was awarded the title of Doctor in Medical Oncology from the University of Navarra in 2002. Since 2003, he has worked in the Department of Medical Oncology at the Hospital Vall d' Hebron, Barcelona, where he is Coordinator of the Teaching and Training Programme for Residents in Oncology and Senior Specialist in the Area of Breast Cancer with a special interest in New Drugs Development. Dr. Cortés is Head of the Breast Cancer Unit and the Melanoma Unit.
In addition, he has two masters’ degree: “Medical Direction and Clinical Management” by the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED) and “Research methodology in Health Sciences” by the Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona and a degree in “Statistics in Health Sciences” by the Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona.
Dr. Cortes is the author of more than 100 publications, especially about breast tumours and new drugs and more than 250 communications at different conferences. He actively participates in the development of numerous national and international clinical investigations, especially in relation to drugs directed against molecular targets and new chemotherapy agents, and he is an ad hoc reviewer of various oncology journals.
Dr Cortés is an active member of the Spanish, European, and American Societies of Medical Oncology (SEOM, ESMO, ASCO), a member of the Scientific Committee of the European Society of Medical Oncology and the Scientific Committee of SOLTI group.

Selected Publications:

• Scaltriti M, Rojo F, Ocaña A, Anido J, Guzman M, Cortés J, Di Cosimo S, Matias-Guiu X, Ramon y Cajal S, Arribas J, Baselga J. “p95HER2, a truncated form of the HER2 receptor, and response to anti-HER2 therapies in breast cancer”. J Natl Cancer Inst 2007; 99: 628-38.

• Cortés J, Di Cosimo S, Climent M, et al. Non-pegylated Liposomal Doxorubicin (TLC-D99), Paclitaxel and Trastuzumab in HER2 Overexpressing Breast Cancer: A Multicenter Phase I/II Study. Clin Cancer Res 2009; 15: 307-14.

• Cortés J, Baselga J. How to Treat Hormone Receptor-Positive, Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2-Amplified Breast Cancer. J Clin Oncol 2009; 27: 5492-94.

• Baselga J, Gelmon K, Verma S, Wardley A, Conte P, Miles D, Bianchi G, Cortés J, Mcnally V, Ross G, Fumoleau P, Gianni L. A Phase II Trial of Pertuzumab and Trastuzumab in Patients with HER2-Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer That Had Progressed During Prior Trastuzumab Therapy. J Clin Oncol 2010; 28: 1138-44.

• Gianni L, Llado A, Bianchi G, Cortés J, et al. Open-Label, Phase II, Multicenter, Randomized Study of the Efficacy and Safety of Two Dose Levels of Pertuzumab, A Her2 Dimerization Inhibitor, In Patients With Her2-Negative Metastatic Breast Cancer. J Clin Oncol 2010; 28: 1131-37.

• Leyland-Jones B, Colomer R, Trudeau M, Wardley A, Latreille J, Cameron D, Cubedo R, Al-Sakaff N, Feyereislova A, Catalani O, Fukushima Y, Brewster M, Cortés J. An Intensive Loading Dose of Trastuzumab Achieves Higher Than Steady-State Serum Concentrations and Is Well Tolerated. J Clin Oncol 2010; 28: 960-66.

• Miles M, Chan A, Dirix L, Cortés J, et al. Phase III Study of Bevacizumab plus Docetaxel Compared with Placebo plus Docetaxel for the First-line Treatment of HER2-negative Metastatic Breast Cancer. J Clin Oncol 2010; 28: 3239-47.

• Cortés J, Vahdat L, Blum J, et al. A phase II study of halichondrin B analog eribulin mesylate (E7389) in patients with locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer, previously treated with an anthracycline, a taxane, an capecitabine. J Clin Oncol 2010; 28:3922-8.

• Cortés J, Saura C, Bellet M, et al. HER2 and hormone receptor-positive breast cancer-blocking the right target. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 2011; 8:307-11

• Cortés J, O’Shaughnessy J, Loesch D, et al. A Phase III open-label randomised study (EMBRACE) of eribulin monotherapy versus treatment of physician's choice in patients with metastatic breast cancer. Lancet 2011; 377:914-23

• Scaltriti M, Eichhorn PJ, Cortés J, et al. Cyclin E amplification/overexpression is a mechanism of trastuzumab resistance in HER2+ breast cancer patients. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2011; 108:3761-6

• Bergh J, Bondarenko IM, Lichinitser MR, Liljegren A, Greil R, Voytko NL, Makhson AN, Cortés J, et al. First-Line Treatment of Advanced Breast Cancer with Sunitinib in Combination with Docetaxel versus Docetaxel Alone – Results of a Prospective, Randomized Phase III Study. J Clin Oncol 2012; 30:921-9

• Cortés J, Fumoleau P, BianchiG, et al. Pertuzumab Monotherapy Following Trastuzumab-Based Treatment and Subsequent Reintroduction of Trastuzumab: Activity and Tolerability in Patients with Advanced HER2-Positive Breast Cancer. J Clin Oncol 2012; 30:1594-600

• Baselga J, Cortes J, Sung-Bae-K, et al. Pertuzumab plus Trastuzumab plus Docetaxel in Metastatic Breast Cancer. N Engl J Med 2012; 366:109-119

• Scaltriti M, Dawood S, Cortes J. Molecular Pathways: Targeting Hsp90, who benefits and who does not. Clin Cancer Res 2012; 18(17):4508-13

• Cortes J, Calvo E, González-Martín E, et al. Progress against Solid Tumors in Danger: The Metastatic Breast Cancer Example. J Clin Oncol 2012; 30(28): 3444-7
• Somlo G, Atzori F, Strauss LC, Geese W, Specht JM, Gradishar WJ, Rybicki A, Sy O, Vahdat LT, Cortes J. Dasatinib Plus Capecitabine for Advanced Breast Cancer: Safety and Preliminary Efficacy in Phase I Study CA180004. Clin Cancer Res. 2013 1;19(7):1884-93

• Swain SM, Kim SB, Cortes J, Ro J, Semiglazov V, Campone M, Ciruelos E, Ferrero JM, Schenneeweiss A, Knott A, Clark E, Ross G, Benynes MC, Baselga J. Pertuzumab, trastuzumab, and docetaxel for HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer (CLEOPATRA study): overall survival results from a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 study. Lancet Oncol 2013;14(6):461-71

• Schnneeweiss A, Chia S, Hickish T, Harvey V, Eniu A, Hegg R, Tausch C, Seo JH, Tsai YF, Ratnayake J, McNally V, Ross G, Cortes J. Pertuzumab Plus Trastuzumab in Combination With Standard Neoadjuvant Anthracycline-Containing and Anthracycline-Free Chemotherapy Regimens in Patients With HER2-Positive Early Breast Cancer: A Randomized Phase II Cardiac Safety Study (TRYPHAENA). Ann Oncol. 2013;24(9):2278-84

• J.Cortes, J.Baselga, Y.-H.Im, S.-A.Im, X.Pivot, G.Ross, E.Clark, A.Knott, S.M.Swain. Health-related quality of life assessment in CLEOPATRA, a Phase III study combining pertuzumab with trastuzumab and docetaxel in metastatic breast cancer. Ann Oncol 2013 ;24(10):2630-5

• Cortes J, Calvo E, Vivancos A, Perez-Garcia J, Recio JA, Seoane. J. New Approach to Cancer Therapy Based on a Molecularly Defined Cancer Classification. CA Cancer J Clin. 2014; 64(1):70-4