Sam Wang, M.D.
Associate Professor

Sam Wang, M.D., FACS is a surgeon-scientist and a member of the Division of Surgical Oncology in the Department of Surgery. His clinical focus includes cancers of the liver, pancreas, stomach, and bile duct.

Dr. Wang graduated from Stanford University, where he received a B.S. with honors in biological science and an A.B. with high honors in history. He attended medical school at Duke University School of Medicine and completed an internship and residency in general surgery at the University of California, San Francisco. He then received advanced training in complex general surgical oncology through a fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2014.

In the lab, Dr. Wang is studying cellular intrinsic and extrinsic factors that regulate gastric cancer initiation, progression, and response to therapy. In addition, he is studying the molecular mechanisms behind outcome disparities that Hispanic gastric cancer patients face. The goals for his research are to identify new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies to improve outcomes for cancer patients.

Dr. Wang is a UT Southwestern Disease-Oriented Clinical Scholar and received an R37 NCI MERIT Award for Early-Stage Investigators from the National Cancer Institute. He is a member of the Society of Surgical Oncology, the Association for Academic Surgery, the Society of University Surgeons, the American Association for Cancer Research, and the American College of Surgeons. He is fluent in Mandarin.

Medical School

Duke University School of Medicine (2005)

Residency

UCSF School of Medicine (2012), Surgery

Fellowship

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (2014), Surgical Oncology

• Biomarker discovery to guide cancer care
• Gastric cancer
• Molecular basis for cancer therapy resistance
• Molecular mechanisms behind disparities in cancer outcomes

Featured Publications

Lenvatinib inhibits the growth of gastric cancer patient-derived xenografts generated from a heterogeneous population.

Karalis JD, Yoon LY, Hammer STG, Hong C, Zhu M, Nassour I, Ju MR, Xiao S, Castro-Dubon EC, Agrawal D, Suarez J, Reznik SI, Mansour JC, Polanco PM, Yopp AC, Zeh HJ, Hwang TH, Zhu H, Porembka MR, Wang SC, J Transl Med 2022 03 20 1 116

Development and validation of a prognostic and predictive 32-gene signature for gastric cancer.

Cheong JH, Wang SC, Park S, Porembka MR, Christie AL, Kim H, Kim HS, Zhu H, Hyung WJ, Noh SH, Hu B, Hong C, Karalis JD, Kim IH, Lee SH, Hwang TH, Nat Commun 2022 02 13 1 774

Hispanic/Latino Patients with Gastric Adenocarcinoma Have Distinct Molecular Profiles Including a High Rate of Germline CDH1 Variants.

Wang SC, Yeu Y, Hammer STG, Xiao S, Zhu M, Hong C, Clemenceau JR, Yoon LY, Nassour I, Shen J, Agarwal D, Reznik SI, Mansour JC, Yopp AC, Zhu H, Hwang TH, Porembka MR, Cancer Res 2020 06 80 11 2114-2124

Arid1a Has Context-Dependent Oncogenic and Tumor Suppressor Functions in Liver Cancer.

Sun X, Wang SC, Wei Y, Luo X, Jia Y, Li L, Gopal P, Zhu M, Nassour I, Chuang JC, Maples T, Celen C, Nguyen LH, Wu L, Fu S, Li W, Hui L, Tian F, Ji Y, Zhang S, Sorouri M, Hwang TH, Letzig L, James L, Wang Z, Yopp AC, Singal AG, Zhu H Cancer Cell 2017 Nov 32 5 574-589.e6

ACTA2 expression predicts survival and is associated with response to immune checkpoint inhibitors in gastric cancer.

Park S, Karalis JD, Hong C, Clemenceau JR, Porembka MR, Kim IH, Lee SH, Wang SC, Cheong JH, Hwang TH, Clin Cancer Res 2022 Dec

Arid1a loss potentiates pancreatic β-cell regeneration through activation of EGF signaling.

Celen C, Chuang JC, Shen S, Li L, Maggiore G, Jia Y, Luo X, Moore A, Wang Y, Otto JE, Collings CK, Wang Z, Sun X, Nassour I, Park J, Ghaben A, Wang T, Wang SC, Scherer PE, Kadoch C, Zhu H, Cell Rep 2022 Nov 41 5 111581

Invited Commentary: Assessing Gastric and Gastroesophageal Junction Cancer Patient Prognosis in the Neoadjuvant Therapy Era.

Karalis JD, Wang SC, J Am Coll Surg 2022 Aug 235 2 304-305

Variation of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treatment Patterns and Survival Across Geographic Regions in a Veteran Population.

Ju MR, Karalis JD, Chansard M, Augustine MM, Mortensen E, Wang SC, Porembka MR, Zeh HJ, Yopp AC, Polanco PM, Ann Surg Oncol 2022 Aug

Disparities in Guideline-Concordant Treatment and Survival Among Border County Residents With Gastric Cancer.

Ju MR, Wang SC, Mansour JC, Polanco PM, Yopp AC, Zeh HJ, Porembka MR, JCO Oncol Pract 2022 Feb OP2100431

Nativity Status is an Important Social Determinant of Health for Hispanic Patients with Gastric Cancer in Texas.

Ju MR, Karalis JD, Bhat A, Zhu H, Hogan T, Balentine C, Yopp AC, Polanco PM, Wang SC, Zeh HJ, Porembka MR, Ann Surg Oncol 2022 Jan

• R37 NCI MERIT Award for Early-Stage Investigators
  National Cancer Institute (2022)
• Jacobson Promising Investigator Award
  American College of Surgeons (2019)
• Faculty Research Fellowship
  American College of Surgeons (2017-2019)
• Health Care Disparities Research Award
  Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract (2017-2019)
• Outstanding Mentor, Center for Translational Medicine
  University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (2017)
• Disease-Oriented Clinical Scholar
  University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (2015-2018)
• Conquer Cancer Foundation Merit Award
  American Society of Clinical Oncology (2014)
• Outstanding Resident Achievement Award
  Department of Surgery, University of California, San Francisco (2012)

• Society of University Surgeons (2020)
• Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract (2016)
• Association for Academic Surgery (2013)
• Society of Surgical Oncology (2013)
• UCSF Naffziger Surgical Society (2012)
• American Association for Cancer Research (2008)
• American Association for Cancer Research (2008)
• American College of Surgeons (2005)