Biosketch Irene Braña

Irene Braña

ibrana@vhio.net

Current Position

Irene Braña is the group leader of the Head and Neck Cancer Group and is part of the Research Unit for Molecular Therapy of Cancer (UITM) – CaixaResearch at VHIO.

Academic Qualifications

Dr. Irene Braña is a Medical Oncologist specialized in Head and Neck Malignancies and Early Drug Development. In 2010, she completed her Medical Oncology training at Vall d’Hebron University Hospital, the largest Medical Oncology Department in Spain. She underwent a 3-year fellowship in Drug Development and Head and Neck Malignancies at the Drug Development Program at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto, Canada. During that period she was awarded a SEOM grant, an ASCO Conquer Cancer Foundation Young Investigator Award and a Foundación La Caixa Grant.

Areas of Research

As part of the Head and Neck Unit, she is in charge of the assessment and treatment of patients candidate for systemic treatment as part of multimodal treatment or in the recurrent/metastastic setting. She has worked in the development of novel therapies from phase I to phase III including immunotherapies and targeted therapies..

Prizes and Scholarships

Publications

Most relevant scientific publications:

Harrington KJ, Burtness B, Greil R, Soulières D, Tahara M, de Castro G Jr, Psyrri A, Brana I, Basté N, Neupane P, Bratland Å, Fuereder T, Hughes BGM, Mesia R, Ngamphaiboon N, Rordorf T, Wan Ishak WZ, Lin J, Gumuscu B, Swaby RF, Rischin D. Pembrolizumab With or Without Chemotherapy in Recurrent or Metastatic Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Updated Results of the Phase III KEYNOTE-048 Study. J Clin Oncol. 2023 Feb 1;41(4):790-802.
Hernando-Calvo A, Mirallas O, Marmolejo D, Saavedra O, Vieito M, Assaf Pastrana JD, Aguilar S, Bescós C, Lorente J, Giralt J, Benavente S, Temprana-Salvador J, Alberola M, Dienstmann R, Garralda E, Felip E, Villacampa G, Brana I. Nutritional status associates with immunotherapy clinical outcomes in recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients. Oral Oncol. 2023 May;140:106364.
Vieito M, Moreno V, Spreafico A, Brana I, Wang JS, Preis M, Hernández T, Genta S, Hansen AR, Doger B, Galvao V, Lenox L, Brown RJ, Kalota A, Mehta J, Pastore F, Patel B, Mistry P, Gu J, Lauring J, Patel MR. Phase 1 Study of JNJ-64619178, a Protein Arginine Methyltransferase 5 Inhibitor, in Advanced Solid Tumors. Clin Cancer Res. 2023 Sep 15;29(18):3592-3602.

All publications:

Phase III clinical trials.

Pembrolizumab With or Without Chemotherapy in Recurrent or Metastatic Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Updated Results of the Phase III KEYNOTE-048 Study. Harrington KJ, Burtness B, Greil R, Soulières D, Tahara M, de Castro G Jr, Psyrri A, Brana I, Basté N, Neupane P, Bratland Å, Fuereder T, Hughes BGM, Mesia R, Ngamphaiboon N, Rordorf T, Wan Ishak WZ, Lin J, Gumuscu B, Swaby RF, Rischin D. J Clin Oncol. 2023 Feb 1;41(4):790-802. doi: 10.1200/JCO.21.02508. Epub 2022 Oct 11. PMID: 36219809.

Biomarkers for immunotherapy.

Nutritional status associates with immunotherapy clinical outcomes in recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients. Hernando-Calvo A, Mirallas O, Marmolejo D, Saavedra O, Vieito M, Assaf Pastrana JD, Aguilar S, Bescós C, Lorente J, Giralt J, Benavente S, Temprana-Salvador J, Alberola M, Dienstmann R, Garralda E, Felip E, Villacampa G, Brana I. Oral Oncol. 2023 May;140:106364. doi: 10.1016/j.oraloncology.2023.106364. Epub 2023 Mar 28. PMID: 36989964.

Clinical Guidelines

Recommendations for the use of biomarkers for head and neck cancer, including salivary gland tumours: A Consensus of the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology and the Spanish Society of Pathology. Pérez JMT, García-Cosío M, García-Castaño A, Gomà M, Mesia-Nin R, Ruiz-Bravo E, Soria-Rivas A, Castillo P, Braña-García I, Alberola-Ferranti M. Rev Esp Patol. 2023 Jan-Mar;56(1):45-57. doi: 10.1016/j.patol.2022.06.003. Epub 2022 Aug 27. PMID: 36599600.

Phase I with dedicated cohorts for patients with head and neck cancers.

1. Phase 1 Study of JNJ-64619178, a Protein Arginine Methyltransferase 5 Inhibitor, in Advanced Solid Tumors. Vieito M, Moreno V, Spreafico A, Brana I, Wang JS, Preis M, Hernández T, Genta S, Hansen AR, Doger B, Galvao V, Lenox L, Brown RJ, Kalota A, Mehta J, Pastore F, Patel B, Mistry P, Gu J, Lauring J, Patel MR. Clin Cancer Res. 2023 Sep 15;29(18):3592-3602. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-23-0092. PMID: 37491846.
2. Pooled Safety Analysis of Single-Agent Lurbinectedin in Patients With Advanced Solid Tumours. Leary A, Oaknin A, Trigo JM, Moreno V, Delord JP, Boni V, Braña I, Fernández C, Kahatt C, Nieto A, Cullell-Young M, Zeaiter A, Subbiah V. Eur J Cancer. 2023 Oct;192:113259. doi: 10.1016/j.ejca.2023.113259. Epub 2023 Jul 28. PMID: 37634282 Free article.
3. Phase I/II sequencing study of azacitidine, epacadostat, and pembrolizumab in advanced solid tumors. Luke JJ, Fakih M, Schneider C, Chiorean EG, Bendell J, Kristeleit R, Kurzrock R, Blagden SP, Brana I, Goff LW, O’Hayer K, Geschwindt R, Smith M, Zhou F, Naing A. Br J Cancer. 2023 Jun;128(12):2227-2235. doi: 10.1038/s41416-023-02267-1. Epub 2023 Apr 22. PMID: 37087488.
4. BET inhibitor trotabresib in heavily pretreated patients with solid tumors and diffuse large B-cell lymphomas. Moreno V, Vieito M, Sepulveda JM, Galvao V, Hernández-Guerrero T, Doger B, Saavedra O, Carlo-Stella C, Michot JM, Italiano A, Magagnoli M, Carpio C, Pinto A, Sarmiento R, Amoroso B, Aronchik I, Filvaroff E, Hanna B, Wei X, Nikolova Z, Braña I. Nat Commun. 2023 Mar 13;14(1):1359. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-36976-1. PMID: 36914652.