ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR | Surgery ASSISTANT PROFESSOR | Oncological Sciences

Education PhD, University of South Florida Biography Dr Hiotis is a Surgical Oncologist at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. He received his MD degree from the University of Maryland, and also holds a PhD in Immunology. Dr Hiotis trained in General Surgery at the University of South Florida in Tampa, and in Surgical Oncology at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. He has a strong interest in cancers of the liver and gastrointestinal tract. In addition to clinical practice in surgical oncology, Dr Hiotis is currently actively engaged in both clinical and laboratory research. He is currently the principal investigator of an independently funded scientific research project, which focuses on the interaction between hepatic fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with hepatitis B. This project involves both a retrospective and prospective component. The prospective arm includes a tumor banking protocol, from which over 100 human tumor and non-neoplastic liver parenchymal specimens have already been collected and cryopreserved. This is a highly unique tumor bank, and only includes hepatocellular cancers from patients with hepatitis B. A broad spectrum of tumors have already been collected from patients with varying degrees of underlying hepatic fibrosis, which is a unique characteristic seen in patients with hepatitis B associated hepatocellular carcinoma. Dr Hiotis’ hepatitis B-hepatocellular carcinoma research project is designed to evaluate differences in hepatocellular carcinoma that arise in patients with underlying cirrhosis, vs. those cancers that arise instead in livers with minimal or moderate fibrosis. His additional research activities also include participation in clinical trials for treatment of liver and gastrointestinal cancers, and basic science research focusing on cancer immunotherapy in a mouse model for hepatocellular carcinoma. Research Dr. Hiotis is currently the Vice Chairman for Surgical Research at Mount Sinai. In this role, Dr. Hiotis administrates the coordinated clinical and basic science research efforts of a large department, including ten divisions and multiple full-time faculty members. He supervises the department’s research fellows, coordinators, and assistants. In addition to his administrative responsibilities in research, Dr. Hiotis also maintains a research endeavor of his own, oversees a basic science laboratory, and is the principal investigator of independently-funded scientific research. He is also actively engaged in several clinical trials. His recent open protocols include: Hepatocellular carcinoma in non-cirrhotic hepatitis B patient; a prospective analysis of a fibrosis-independent pathway to cancer based on hepatitis B viral DNA levels. Treatment of advanced metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma with autologous dendritic cell vaccination Cell based immunotherapy of a model for hepatocellular carcinoma Risk factors for peritoneal disease and recurrence in gastric cancer Factors associated with improved survival in patients with gall bladder cancer