Heather McArthur, M.D.

Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center

Komen Distinguished Chair in Clinical Breast Cancer Research

Internal Medicine - Hematology/Oncology
Breast Cancer

Biography

Heather Lynn McArthur, M.D., M.P.H., is a Professor of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center and a member of its Division of Hematology and Oncology. She serves as Clinical Director of the Breast Cancer Program at the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, where she specializes in breast cancer research and treatment.

Dr. McArthur earned her medical degree at the University of Toronto and completed a residency in internal medicine at the University of Calgary. She received advanced training through a medical oncology fellowship at the University of British Columbia and an advanced clinical research fellowship in breast cancer at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

She also holds a master’s degree in public health from Harvard University.

Dr. McArthur joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2021. Previously, she served as Medical Director of Breast Oncology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

At UT Southwestern, she serves as the Komen Distinguished Chair in Clinical Breast Cancer Research. Her research focuses on innovations in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer, and she has a special interest in developing immunotherapy strategies.

The author of more than 100 research articles and abstracts, she has been a reviewer for medical journals including Cancer, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Nature, and New England Journal of Medicine. She currently serves as an Associate Editor for Breast Cancer Research and on the editorial boards for Cancer and Breast Cancer Research and Treatment.

She also serves on the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology’s Immuno-Oncology Committee Advisory Council, Oncology Education’s Scientific Steering Committee, and the National Cancer Institute’s Breast Immuno-Oncology Task Force of the Breast Cancer Steering Committee.

Dr. McArthur is a member of the American Association for Cancer Research, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and the Southwest Oncology Group.

Education & Training

Other Post Graduate Training - Harvard University (2006-2008)
Medical School - University of Toronto (1997-2001)
Residency - University of Calgary (2001-2004), Internal Medicine
Fellowship - British Columbia Cancer Vancouver Centre (2004-2006), Medical Oncology
Graduate School - Harvard University School of Public Health (2006-2008)

Professional Associations & Affiliations

American Association for Cancer Research
American Society of Clinical Oncology
Southwest Oncology Group

Honors & Awards

Bernard Lee Schwartz Cancer Lectureship 2021, Scripps MD Anderson Cancer Center
Certificate of Excellence in Recognition of Being in the Top 10% Nationally in Patient Experience Performance of all Physicians in Specialty 2020-2021, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
LA Goes Pink Award in Tribute to Liz Smagala Tate 2018-2020, Breast Cancer Research Foundation
Nominee, “Woman Oncologist of the Year” Award 2020, Women Leaders in Oncology
Robert L. Longmire Lectureship 2020, Scripps MD Anderson Cancer Center
American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Advocacy Program, Senator’s Club Level 2019, American Society of Clinical Oncology
Laura Ziskin Prize in Translational Cancer Research 2019, Stand Up To Cancer
Eileen Dreyer Memorial Lecture Award 2015, SASS Foundation for Medical Research Inc.
ASCO Cancer Foundation Merit Award, 2007, 2009, American Society of Clinical Oncology
San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium AstraZeneca Clinical Scholars Award 2008, San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium
First Prize, Poster Award for Epidemiology and Population Research 2006, British Colombia Cancer Agency Annual Cancer Conference
Stefan Grzbowski Prize for Best Research Project by a Fellow 2006, University of British Columbia Department of Medicine
First Prize, Poster Award for Translation II – Adoption 2005, British Columbia Cancer Agency Annual Cancer Conference
Second Place Award for Excellence in Research 2004, Canadian Society of Internal Medicine
Award for Excellence in Teaching in the Clinical Clerkship 2003, University of Calgary

Books & Publications

Publications
- Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) clinical practice guideline on immunotherapy for the treatment of breast cancer.
  Emens LA, Adams S, Cimino-Mathews A, Disis ML, Gatti-Mays ME, Ho AY, Kalinsky K, McArthur HL, Mittendorf EA, Nanda R, Page DB, Rugo HS, Rubin KM, Soliman H, Spears PA, Tolaney SM, Litton JK, Journal for immunotherapy of cancer 2021 Aug 9 8
- Advances in Combining Radiation and Immunotherapy in Breast Cancer.
  Nguyen AT, Shiao SL, McArthur HL, Clinical breast cancer 2021 04 21 2 143-152
- Biomarkers of Immune Checkpoint Blockade Response in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer.
  Isaacs J, Anders C, McArthur H, Force J, Current treatment options in oncology 2021 03 22 5 38
- A Case Series of Metastatic Metaplastic Breast Carcinoma Treated With Anti-PD-1 Therapy.
  Kim I, Rajamanickam V, Bernard B, Chun B, Wu Y, Martel M, Sun Z, Redmond WL, Sanchez K, Basho R, McArthur H, Page DB, Frontiers in oncology 2021 11 635237
- Immunomodulatory Activity of a Colony-stimulating Factor-1 Receptor Inhibitor in Patients with Advanced Refractory Breast or Prostate Cancer: A Phase I Study.
  Autio KA, Klebanoff CA, Schaer D, Kauh JSW, Slovin SF, Adamow M, Blinder VS, Brahmachary M, Carlsen M, Comen E, Danila DC, Doman TN, Durack JC, Fox JJ, Gluskin JS, Hoffman DM, Kang S, Kang P, Landa J, McAndrew PF, Modi S, Morris MJ, Novosiadly R, Rathkopf DE, Sanford R, Chapman SC, Tate CM, Yu D, Wong P, McArthur HL, Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020 11 26 21 5609-5620
- The path to a better biomarker: application of a risk management framework for the implementation of PD-L1 and TILs as immuno-oncology biomarkers in breast cancer clinical trials and daily practice.
  Gonzalez-Ericsson PI, Stovgaard ES, Sua LF, Reisenbichler E, Kos Z, Carter JM, Michiels S, Le Quesne J, Nielsen TO, Laenkholm AV, Fox SB, Adam J, Bartlett JM, Rimm DL, Quinn C, Peeters D, Dieci MV, Vincent-Salomon A, Cree I, Hida AI, Balko JM, Haynes HR, Frahm I, Acosta-Haab G, Balancin M, Bellolio E, Yang W, Kirtani P, Sugie T, Ehinger A, Castaneda CA, Kok M, McArthur H, Siziopikou K, Badve S, Fineberg S, Gown A, Viale G, Schnitt SJ, Pruneri G, Penault-Llorca F, Hewitt S, Thompson EA, Allison KH, Symmans WF, Bellizzi AM, Brogi E, Moore DA, Larsimont D, Dillon DA, Lazar A, Lien H, Goetz MP, Broeckx G, El Bairi K, Harbeck N, Cimino-Mathews A, Sotiriou C, Adams S, Liu SW, Loibl S, Chen IC, Lakhani SR, Juco JW, Denkert C, Blackley EF, Demaria S, Leon-Ferre R, Gluz O, Zardavas D, Emancipator K, Ely S, Loi S, Salgado R, Sanders M, The Journal of pathology 2020 04 250 5 667-684
- A phase 2 clinical trial?assessing the?efficacy and safety of pembrolizumab and radiotherapy in patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer.
  Ho AY, Barker CA, Arnold BB, Powell SN, Hu ZI, Gucalp A, Lebron-Zapata L, Wen HY, Kallman C, D'Agnolo A, Zhang Z, Flynn J, Dunn SA, McArthur HL, Cancer 2020 02 126 4 850-860
- Pembrolizumab for Early Triple-Negative Breast Cancer.
  Schmid P, Cortes J, Pusztai L, McArthur H, Kümmel S, Bergh J, Denkert C, Park YH, Hui R, Harbeck N, Takahashi M, Foukakis T, Fasching PA, Cardoso F, Untch M, Jia L, Karantza V, Zhao J, Aktan G, Dent R, O'Shaughnessy J, The New England journal of medicine 2020 02 382 9 810-821
- Current Landscape of Immunotherapy in Breast Cancer: A Review.
  Adams S, Gatti-Mays ME, Kalinsky K, Korde LA, Sharon E, Amiri-Kordestani L, Bear H, McArthur HL, Frank E, Perlmutter J, Page DB, Vincent B, Hayes JF, Gulley JL, Litton JK, Hortobagyi GN, Chia S, Krop I, White J, Sparano J, Disis ML, Mittendorf EA, JAMA oncology 2019 Aug 5 8 1205-1214
- Contemporary Guidelines in Whole-Breast Irradiation: An Alternative Perspective.
  Recht A, McArthur H, Solin LJ, Tendulkar R, Whitley A, Giuliano A, International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics 2019 07 104 3 567-573
- A network approach to developing immuno-oncology combinations in Canada.
  Higenell V, Fajzel R, Batist G, Cheema PK, McArthur HL, Melosky B, Morris D, Petrella TM, Sangha R, Savard MF, Sridhar SS, Stagg J, Stewart DJ, Verma S, Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) 2019 04 26 2 73-79
- Checkpoint Blockade Strategies in the Treatment of Breast Cancer: Where We Are and Where We Are Heading.
  Force J, Leal JHS, McArthur HL, Current treatment options in oncology 2019 03 20 4 35
- Two may be better than one: PD-1/PD-L1 blockade combination approaches in metastatic breast cancer.
  Page DB, Bear H, Prabhakaran S, Gatti-Mays ME, Thomas A, Cobain E, McArthur H, Balko JM, Gameiro SR, Nanda R, Gulley JL, Kalinsky K, White J, Litton J, Chmura SJ, Polley MY, Vincent B, Cescon DW, Disis ML, Sparano JA, Mittendorf EA, Adams S, NPJ breast cancer 2019 5 34
- If we build it they will come: targeting the immune response to breast cancer.
  Gatti-Mays ME, Balko JM, Gameiro SR, Bear HD, Prabhakaran S, Fukui J, Disis ML, Nanda R, Gulley JL, Kalinsky K, Abdul Sater H, Sparano JA, Cescon D, Page DB, McArthur H, Adams S, Mittendorf EA, NPJ breast cancer 2019 5 37
- Characteristics and Prognostic Factors for Patients With HER2-overexpressing Breast Cancer and Brain Metastases in the Era of HER2-targeted Therapy: An Argument for Earlier Detection.
  Morikawa A, Wang R, Patil S, Diab A, Yang J, Hudis CA, McArthur HL, Beal K, Seidman AD, Clinical breast cancer 2018 10 18 5 353-361
- Innovations and Challenges in the Treatment of Metastatic Triple-Negative Breast Cancer.
  McArthur HL, Journal of oncology practice 2018 05 14 5 290-291
- Optimizing (neo)adjuvant treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer.
  Basho RK, McArthur HL, Therapeutic advances in medical oncology 2018 10 1758835918775697
- Monosomy 17 in potentially curable HER2-amplified breast cancer: prognostic and predictive impact.
  Page DB, Wen H, Brogi E, Dure D, Ross D, Spinelli KJ, Patil S, Norton L, Hudis C, McArthur HL, Breast cancer research and treatment 2018 01 167 2 547-554
- Immunotherapy in Breast Cancer: the New Frontier.
  Hu ZI, McArthur HL, Current breast cancer reports 2018 10 2 35-40
- Combined Radiation Therapy and Immune Checkpoint Blockade Therapy for Breast Cancer.
  Hu ZI, Ho AY, McArthur HL, International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics 2017 09 99 1 153-164
- Comparison of FDG-PET/CT and contrast-enhanced CT for monitoring therapy response in patients with metastatic breast cancer.
  Riedl CC, Pinker K, Ulaner GA, Ong LT, Baltzer P, Jochelson MS, McArthur HL, Gönen M, Dickler M, Weber WA, European journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging 2017 Aug 44 9 1428-1437
- The Abscopal Effect of Radiation Therapy: What Is It and How Can We Use It in Breast Cancer?
  Hu ZI, McArthur HL, Ho AY, Current breast cancer reports 2017 9 1 45-51
- Adjuvant Chemotherapy and Trastuzumab Is Safe and Effective in Older Women With Small, Node-Negative, HER2-Positive Early-Stage Breast Cancer.
  Cadoo KA, Morris PG, Cowell EP, Patil S, Hudis CA, McArthur HL, Clinical breast cancer 2016 12 16 6 487-493
- A Pilot Study of Preoperative Single-Dose Ipilimumab and/or Cryoablation in Women with Early-Stage Breast Cancer with Comprehensive Immune Profiling.
  McArthur HL, Diab A, Page DB, Yuan J, Solomon SB, Sacchini V, Comstock C, Durack JC, Maybody M, Sung J, Ginsberg A, Wong P, Barlas A, Dong Z, Zhao C, Blum B, Patil S, Neville D, Comen EA, Morris EA, Kotin A, Brogi E, Wen YH, Morrow M, Lacouture ME, Sharma P, Allison JP, Hudis CA, Wolchok JD, Norton L, Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research 2016 Dec 22 23 5729-5737
- Immunotherapy for the treatment of breast cancer: checkpoint blockade, cancer vaccines, and future directions in combination immunotherapy.
  McArthur HL, Page DB, Clinical advances in hematology & oncology : H&O 2016 Nov 14 11 922-933
- Detection of HER2-Positive Metastases in Patients with HER2-Negative Primary Breast Cancer Using 89Zr-Trastuzumab PET/CT.
  Ulaner GA, Hyman DM, Ross DS, Corben A, Chandarlapaty S, Goldfarb S, McArthur H, Erinjeri JP, Solomon SB, Kolb H, Lyashchenko SK, Lewis JS, Carrasquillo JA, Journal of nuclear medicine : official publication, Society of Nuclear Medicine 2016 Oct 57 10 1523-1528
- Deep Sequencing of T-cell Receptor DNA as a Biomarker of Clonally Expanded TILs in Breast Cancer after Immunotherapy.
  Page DB, Yuan J, Redmond D, Wen YH, Durack JC, Emerson R, Solomon S, Dong Z, Wong P, Comstock C, Diab A, Sung J, Maybody M, Morris E, Brogi E, Morrow M, Sacchini V, Elemento O, Robins H, Patil S, Allison JP, Wolchok JD, Hudis C, Norton L, McArthur HL, Cancer immunology research 2016 10 4 10 835-844
- Breast Cancer Brain Metastasis: An Ongoing Clinical Challenge and Opportunity for Innovation.
  McArthur H, Oncology (Williston Park, N.Y.) 2016 10 30 10 934-5
- The Impact That Number of Analyzed Metastatic Breast Cancer Lesions Has on Response Assessment by 18F-FDG PET/CT Using PERCIST.
  Pinker K, Riedl CC, Ong L, Jochelson M, Ulaner GA, McArthur H, Dickler M, Gönen M, Weber WA, Journal of nuclear medicine : official publication, Society of Nuclear Medicine 2016 07 57 7 1102-4
- Immunotherapy in breast cancer: An overview of modern checkpoint blockade strategies and vaccines.
  Sanchez K, Page D, McArthur HL, Current problems in cancer 2016 Mar - Aug 40 2-4 151-162
- Prognostic value of FDG PET/CT-based metabolic tumor volumes in metastatic triple negative breast cancer patients.
  Marinelli B, Espinet-Col C, Ulaner GA, McArthur HL, Gonen M, Jochelson M, Weber WA, American journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging 2016 6 2 120-7
- The Effect of Adjuvant Trastuzumab on Locoregional Recurrence of Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2-Positive Breast Cancer Treated with Mastectomy.
  Lanning RM, Morrow M, Riaz N, McArthur HL, Dang C, Moo TA, El-Tamer M, Krause K, Siu C, Hsu M, Zhang Z, Pei X, McCormick B, Powell SN, Ho A, Annals of surgical oncology 2015 Aug 22 8 2517-25
- Effects of a green tea extract, Polyphenon E, on systemic biomarkers of growth factor signalling in women with hormone receptor-negative breast cancer.
  Crew KD, Ho KA, Brown P, Greenlee H, Bevers TB, Arun B, Sneige N, Hudis C, McArthur HL, Chang J, Rimawi M, Cornelison TL, Cardelli J, Santella RM, Wang A, Lippman SM, Hershman DL, Journal of human nutrition and dietetics : the official journal of the British Dietetic Association 2015 Jun 28 3 272-82
- Emerging immunotherapy strategies in breast cancer.
  Page DB, Naidoo J, McArthur HL, Immunotherapy 2014 6 2 195-209
- Standardized uptake value by positron emission tomography/computed tomography as a prognostic variable in metastatic breast cancer.
  Morris PG, Ulaner GA, Eaton A, Fazio M, Jhaveri K, Patil S, Evangelista L, Park JY, Serna-Tamayo C, Howard J, Larson S, Hudis CA, McArthur HL, Jochelson MS, Cancer 2012 Nov 118 22 5454-62
- Phase IB randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, dose escalation study of polyphenon E in women with hormone receptor-negative breast cancer.
  Crew KD, Brown P, Greenlee H, Bevers TB, Arun B, Hudis C, McArthur HL, Chang J, Rimawi M, Vornik L, Cornelison TL, Wang A, Hibshoosh H, Ahmed A, Terry MB, Santella RM, Lippman SM, Hershman DL, Cancer prevention research (Philadelphia, Pa.) 2012 Sep 5 9 1144-54
- Adjuvant trastuzumab reduces locoregional recurrence in women who receive breast-conservation therapy for lymph node-negative, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive breast cancer.
  Kiess AP, McArthur HL, Mahoney K, Patil S, Morris PG, Ho A, Hudis CA, McCormick B, Cancer 2012 Apr 118 8 1982-8
- Trastuzumab and chemotherapy may be appropriate for small, node-negative, HER2-positive breast cancer.
  Morris PG, McArthur HL, The oncologist 2012 17 10 e33; author reply e34
- Interventional immunotherapy in breast cancer
  Diab A, Solomon S, Allison J, Norton L, and McArthur HL Breast Cancer Manage 2012 1 4 257-260
- Adjuvant trastuzumab with chemotherapy is effective in women with small, node-negative, HER2-positive breast cancer.
  McArthur HL, Mahoney KM, Morris PG, Patil S, Jacks LM, Howard J, Norton L, Hudis CA, Cancer 2011 Dec 117 24 5461-8
- Troponin I and C-reactive protein are commonly detected in patients with breast cancer treated with dose-dense chemotherapy incorporating trastuzumab and lapatinib.
  Morris PG, Chen C, Steingart R, Fleisher M, Lin N, Moy B, Come S, Sugarman S, Abbruzzi A, Lehman R, Patil S, Dickler M, McArthur HL, Winer E, Norton L, Hudis CA, Dang CT, Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research 2011 May 17 10 3490-9
- Aromatase inhibitor strategies in metastatic breast cancer.
  McArthur HL, Morris PG, International journal of women's health 2010 Aug 1 67-72
- Chemotherapy: Neoadjuvant trial design: time for a brave new world?
  McArthur HL, Hudis CA, Nature reviews. Clinical oncology 2010 Jul 7 7 359-60
- Integrated positron emission tomography/computed tomography may render bone scintigraphy unnecessary to investigate suspected metastatic breast cancer.
  Morris PG, Lynch C, Feeney JN, Patil S, Howard J, Larson SM, Dickler M, Hudis CA, Jochelson M, McArthur HL, Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2010 Jul 28 19 3154-9
- Dose-dense chemotherapy for breast cancer: what does the future hold?
  Morris PG, McArthur HL, Hudis C, Norton L, Future oncology (London, England) 2010 Jun 6 6 951-65
- Update on administration of adjuvant trastuzumab.
  McArthur HL, Clinical advances in hematology & oncology : H&O 2010 May 8 5 321-2, 375
- Dose-dense adjuvant Doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide is not associated with frequent short-term changes in left ventricular ejection fraction.
  Morris PG, Dickler M, McArthur HL, Traina T, Sugarman S, Lin N, Moy B, Come S, Godfrey L, Nulsen B, Chen C, Steingart R, Rugo H, Norton L, Winer E, Hudis CA, Dang CT, Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2009 Dec 27 36 6117-23
- Trastuzumab: a picky partner?
  McArthur HL, Hudis CA, Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research 2009 Oct 15 20 6311-3
- Therapeutic options for metastatic breast cancer.
  Morris PG, McArthur HL, Hudis CA, Expert opinion on pharmacotherapy 2009 Apr 10 6 967-81
- Effectiveness of a letter notification program for women with early-stage breast cancer eligible for extended adjuvant letrozole.
  McArthur HL, Gelmon KA, Olivotto IA, Speers CH, Ellard SL, O'Reilly SE, Kennecke HF, Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2009 Mar 27 9 1388-93
- An overview of HER-targeted therapy with lapatinib in breast cancer.
  McArthur H, Advances in therapy 2009 Mar 26 3 263-71
- Risk of early recurrence among postmenopausal women with estrogen receptor-positive early breast cancer treated with adjuvant tamoxifen.
  Kennecke H, McArthur H, Olivotto IA, Speers C, Bajdik C, Chia SK, Ellard S, Norris B, Hayes M, Barnett J, Gelmon KA, Cancer 2008 Apr 112 7 1437-44
- Advances in adjuvant chemotherapy of early stage breast cancer.
  McArthur HL, Hudis CA, Cancer treatment and research 2008 141 37-53
- Biomarkers in breast cancer.
  McArthur HL, Dickler MN, Cancer biology & therapy 2008 Jan 7 1 21-2
- Current status of the taxanes as adjuvant therapy for breast cancer.
  Hudis C, McArthur H, Dang C, Breast (Edinburgh, Scotland) 2007 Dec 16 Suppl 2 S132-5
- Dose-dense therapy in the treatment of early-stage breast cancer: an overview of the data.
  McArthur HL, Hudis CA, Clinical breast cancer 2007 Dec 8 Suppl 1 S6-S10
- Has first-line therapy had an impact on general outcome in metastatic breast cancer?
  McArthur HL, Hudis CA, Future oncology (London, England) 2007 Aug 3 4 411-8
- Cardiotoxicity of trastuzumab in clinical practice.
  McArthur HL, Chia S, The New England journal of medicine 2007 Jul 357 1 94-5
- Breast cancer chemotherapy.
  McArthur HL, Hudis CA, Cancer journal (Sudbury, Mass.) 2007 May-Jun 13 3 141-7
- Adjuvant chemotherapy for early-stage breast cancer.
  McArthur HL, Hudis CA, Hematology/oncology clinics of North America 2007 Apr 21 2 207-22

Research

Breast cancer diagnosis
Breast cancer treatment
Immunotherapy for breast cancer

Clinical Focus

Breast Cancer

Heather Lynn McArthur, M.D., M.P.H.

Dr. McArthur talks about her approach to patient care.

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