Mark J. Levis, MD, PhD

Professional Titles

• Program Leader, Hematologic Malignancies and Bone Marrow Transplant Program, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center

Primary Academic Title

Professor of Oncology

Background

Centers and Institutes

Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center

Clinical Trial Keywords

FLT3 Inhibitor

Additional Academic Titles

Professor of Medicine

Contact for Research Inquiries

Cancer Research Building
1650 Orleans Street
Baltimore, MD 21287

Phone: (410) 502-3629
Fax: (410) 614-1005

Research Interests

Kinase Inhibitors, Targeting the FLT3 Signaling Pathway as a Treatment for Acute Leukemia

Lab Website

Mark Levis Laboratory - Lab Website

• Dr. Levis laboratory research focuses on the development of molecularly targeted therapies for leukemia. Currently, he is actively involved in the pre-clinical and clinical development of small molecule inhibitors of protein kinase, including FLT3. The research involves studying the biochemical effects of these inhibitors on primary blast samples from leukemia patients.

Research Summary

Our broad research goals are to identify and validate novel molecular therapeutic targets in hematopoietic malignancies. We are interested in the identification and pre-clinical development of novel targeted therapies, and, in particular, the “translational” step of this research by using correlative studies to incorporate these novel therapies into existing treatments. Our research is of particular interest to those who wish to be involved in directly translating the results of laboratory bench work into meaningful benefits for patients.

Currently, we are actively involved in the pre-clinical and clinical development of small molecule kinase inhibitors targeting the FLT3 signaling pathway in acute myeloid leukemia. 

The active projects in the lab include:

1. Characterization of cytotoxic responses of different hematologic malignancies to FLT3 and KIT kinase inhibition;
2. Examination of the interaction of bone marrow stroma and stroma-derived cytokines on the efficacy of these inhibitors;
3. Examination of the differential effect of FLT3 inhibition versus combined FLT3/KIT inhibition on acute myeloid leukemia and bone marrow progenitor cells; and
4. Correlative laboratory studies using blood and marrow samples from patients treated with FLT3 inhibitors, with the aim of developing predictive models for clinical response.

PubMed

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/mark.levis.1/bibliography/public/

Selected Publications

• Levis M, Shi W, Chang K, Laing C, Pollner R, Gocke C, Adams E, Berisha F, Lameh J, Lesegretain A.. FLT3 inhibitors added to induction therapy induce deeper remissions. Blood. 2020. 135(1):75-78. PMID:31722002

• Levis MJ, Perl AE, Altman JK, Gocke CD, Bahceci E, Hill J, Liu C, Xie Z, Carson AR, McClain V, Stenzel TT, Miller JE.  A next-generation sequencing-based assay for minimal residual disease assessment in AML patients with FLT3-ITD mutations.  Blood Adv. 2018 Apr 24;2(8):825-831. PMID:29643105

• Cortes JE, Khaled S, Martinelli G, Perl AE, Ganguly S, Russell N, Krämer A, Dombret H, Hogge D, Jonas BA, Leung AY, Mehta P, Montesinos P, Radsak M, Sica S, Arunachalam M, Holmes M, Kobayashi K, Namuyinga R, Ge N, Yver A, Zhang Y, Levis MJ. Quizartinib versus salvage chemotherapy in relapsed or refractory FLT3-ITD acute myeloid leuaemia (QuANTUM-R): a multicenter, randomized, controlled, open-label, phase 3 trial.  Lancet Oncol. 2019; 20(7):984-997.  PMID 31175001

• Perl AE, Altman JK, Cortes J, Smith C, Litzow M, Baer MR, Claxton D, Erba H, Gill S, Goldberg S, Jurcic J, Larson RA, Liu C, Ritchie E, Schiller G, Spira A, Strickland S, Tibes R, Ustun C, Wang ES, Stuart R, Rollig C, Neubauer A, Martinelli G, Bahceci E, Levis M.  Selective inhibition of FLT3 by gilteritinib in relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia.  Lancet Oncol. 2017; 18(8):1061-1075. PMID28645776

• Perl. AE, Martinelli G, Cortes, JE, Neubauer A, Berman E, Paolini S, Montesinos P, Baer MR, Larson RA, Ustun C, Fabbiano F, Erba HP, Di Stasi A, Stuart R, Olin R, Kasner M, Ciceri F, Chou W-C, Podoltsev N, Recher C, Yokoyama H, Hosono N, Yoon S-S, Lee J-H, Pardee T, Fathi A, Liu C, Hasabou N, Liu X, Bahceci E, Levis MJ. Gilteritinib versus chemotherapy for FLT3-mutated relapsed/refractory AML.  N Engl J Medicine. 2019; 381(18):1728-1740. PMID: 31665578

Honors

Clinical Scholar of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

Graduate Program Affiliations

• Cellular and Molecular Medicine (CMM)

Memberships

• Leukemia and Lymphoma Society,

  Clinical Scholar

• American Society of Hematology,

  Member

• American Society of Clinical Oncology,

  Member

• European Hematology Association,

  Member