Cynthia Ma, MD, PhD

Medical Oncologist

Primary Academic Title

Professor of Medicine, Division of Oncology, Section of Breast Oncology, WashU Medicine

Clinical Expertise

Breast cancer

Research Interest

Breast cancer, endocrine therapy, developmental therapeutics, biomarkers and pharmacogenetics.

Education

1990: MD, Beijing Medical University
1997: PhD, developmental biology, University of Cincinnati

Training

1990 - 1991: Resident, internal medicine and endocrinology, Beijing Medical University
1997 - 1998: Postdoctoral fellow, endocrinology and oncology, University of Cincinnati
1998 - 2001: Intern and resident, internal medicine, New Hanover Regional Medical Center, Wilmington, N.C.
2001 - 2005: Fellow, hematology and oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.

Board Certification

2001: American Board of Internal Medicine, Internal Medicine
2004: American Board of Internal Medicine, Hematology
2005: American Board of Internal Medicine, Medical Oncology

Selected Research Publications

Detection of Circulating Tumor DNA Using a Tissue-Free Epigenomic Assay Is a Highly Prognostic Biomarker in Early-Stage Triple-Negative Breast Cancer.

Ademuyiwa FO, Ma CX, Weilbaecher K, [...] Davis A
Clin Cancer Res 2025

First-Line Camizestrant for Emerging ESR1-Mutated Advanced Breast Cancer.

Bidard FC, Mayer EL, Park YH, [...] Ma C, [...] Turner NC
N Engl J Med 2025

Novel treatment approaches utilizing antibody-drug conjugates in breast cancer.

Davis AA, Hesse J, Pereira PMR, Ma CX
NPJ Breast Cancer 2025

Stabilization of RUNX1 Induced by O-GlcNAcylation Promotes PDGF-BB-Mediated Resistance to CDK4/6 Inhibitors in Breast Cancer.

Zhou S, Zhang Y, Belmar J, [...] Ma CX, [...] Zhu W
Cancer Res 2025

Racial Differences in ctDNA Profiles, Targeted Therapy Use, and Outcomes in Metastatic Breast Cancer.

Podany EL, Foffano L, Gerratana L, [...] Ma CX, [...] Davis AA
JAMA Netw Open 2025

Stroma-derived Dickkopf-1 contributes to the suppression of NK cell cytotoxicity in breast cancer.

Lee S, Ricci B, Tran J, [...] Ma CX, [...] Faccio R
Nat Commun 2025

Imlunestrant, an Oral Selective Estrogen Receptor Degrader, as Monotherapy and in Combination With Targeted Therapy in Estrogen Receptor-Positive, Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2-Negative Advanced Breast Cancer: Phase Ia/Ib EMBER Study.

Jhaveri KL, Lim E, Jeselsohn R, Ma CX, [...] Beeram M
J Clin Oncol 2024

Neoantigen DNA vaccines are safe, feasible, and induce neoantigen-specific immune responses in triple-negative breast cancer patients.

Zhang X, Goedegebuure SP, Chen MY, [...] Ma CX, [...] Gillanders WE
Genome Med 2024

Differential chromatin accessibility and transcriptional dynamics define breast cancer subtypes and their lineages.

Iglesia MD, Jayasinghe RG, Chen S, [...] Ma C, [...] Ding L
Nat Cancer 2024

O-GlcNAcylation of MITF regulates its activity and CDK4/6 inhibitor resistance in breast cancer.

Zhang Y, Zhou S, Kai Y, [...] Ma CX, [...] Zhu W
Nat Commun 2024

PACE: A Randomized Phase II Study of Fulvestrant, Palbociclib, and Avelumab After Progression on Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 4/6 Inhibitor and Aromatase Inhibitor for Hormone Receptor-Positive/Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor-Negative Metastatic Breast Cancer.

Mayer EL, Ren Y, Wagle N, [...] Ma C, [...] Tolaney SM
J Clin Oncol 2024

Evaluation of Copanlisib in Combination with Eribulin in Triple-negative Breast Cancer Patient-derived Xenograft Models.

Guo Z, Luo J, Mashl RJ, [...] Ma CX
Cancer Res Commun 2024

Endocrine-Sensitive Disease Rate in Postmenopausal Patients With Estrogen Receptor-Rich/ERBB2-Negative Breast Cancer Receiving Neoadjuvant Anastrozole, Fulvestrant, or Their Combination: A Phase 3 Randomized Clinical Trial.

Ma CX, Suman VJ, Sanati S, [...] Carey LA
JAMA Oncol 2024

Combining the Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Cabozantinib and the mTORC1/2 Inhibitor Sapanisertib Blocks ERK Pathway Activity and Suppresses Tumor Growth in Renal Cell Carcinoma.

Wu Y, Chen S, Yang X, [...] Ma CX, [...] Chen F
Cancer Res 2023

Genetic Alterations Detected by Circulating Tumor DNA in HER2-Low Metastatic Breast Cancer.

Hensing WL, Gerratana L, Clifton K, [...] Ma CX, [...] Davis AA
Clin Cancer Res 2023

View All Publications

Contact Information

Gary C. Werths Building at Siteman Cancer Center

4500 Forest Park Avenue
Saint Louis, MO 63108

Request an appointment