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Ciara Freeman, MD, PhD

 
Specialty: Medical Oncology
Program: Blood and Marrow Transplant and Cellular Immunotherapy

Call 1-888-663-3488

Call 1-888-663-3488


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Overview

Dr. Freeman obtained her MD from the National University of Ireland, specialized in hematology at St Bartholomew’s in London, and obtained a master’s degree in Clinical Drug Development from Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). She also earned her PhD in immuno-oncology and therapeutics from the Barts Cancer Institute of QMUL under Professor John Gribben. She completed a fellowship in lymphoproliferative disorders and joins us from the British Columbia Cancer Agency in Vancouver, Canada, where she served as Assistant Professor and the Myeloma Lead. Dr. Freeman's clinical interests are focused on the treatment of patients with plasma cell neoplasms using autologous transplant and cellular immunotherapy. Her research interests are centered on optimizing outcomes for patients using this novel approach, identifying predictors of treatment failure or toxicity, new target discovery and clinical trial development, and identifying the best modalities for measuring disease burden and relapse. She is also interested in how to safely administer these highly effective and personalised cell therapies to all patients, including those with additional health concerns.  


Education & Training

Fellowship:

  • Barts and the Royal London NHS Trust - Hematology
  • BC Cancer Centre - lymphoproliferative disorders

Residency:

  • Mater Misercordiae Hospital, Dublin -
  • Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale Arizona -

Medical School:

  • National University of Ireland - MD
Participating Trials

CLINICAL TRIAL 22086
A Phase II Study of CART-ddBCMA for the Treatment of Patients with Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma
Condition: Multiple Myeloma
Intervention: CART-ddBCMA (); cyclophosphamide (); cytoxan (cyclophosphamide); fludarabine (Fludarabine phosphate)
Open

If you believe you are eligible for one of these trials or studies, please call
813-745-6100 or toll-free 1-800-679-0775.

Publications

  • Alduaij W, Collinge BJ, Ben-Neriah S, Jiang A, Hilton LK, Boyle M, Meissner B, Chong LC, Miyata-Takata T, Slack GW, Farinha P, Craig JW, Lytle A, Savage KJ, Villa D, Gerrie AS, Freeman CL, Gascoyne RD, Connors JM, Morin RD, Sehn LH, Mungall AJ, Steidl C, Scott DW. Molecular determinants of clinical outcomes in a real-world diffuse large B-cell lymphoma population. Blood. 2023 May.141(20):2493-2507. Pubmedid: 36302166.
  • Hilton LK, Ngu HS, Collinge B, Dreval K, Ben-Neriah S, Rushton CK, Wong JCH, Cruz M, Roth A, Boyle M, Meissner B, Slack GW, Farinha P, Craig JW, Gerrie AS, Freeman CL, Villa D, Crump M, Shepherd L, Hay AE, Kuruvilla J, Savage KJ, Kridel R, Karsan A, Marra MA, Sehn LH, Steidl C, Morin RD, Scott DW. Relapse timing is associated with distinct evolutionary dynamics in DLBCL. medRxiv. 2023 Mar. Pubmedid: 36945587. Pmcid: PMC10029038.
  • Villa D, Hoster E, Hermine O, Klapper W, Szymczyk M, Bosly A, Unterhalt M, Rimsza LM, Ramsower C, Freeman CL, Scott DW, Gerrie AS, Savage KJ, Sehn LH, Dreyling M. Bendamustine or high-dose cytarabine-based induction with rituximab in transplant-eligible mantle cell lymphoma. Blood Adv. 2022 Sep.6(18):5285-5294. Pubmedid: 35439293. Pmcid: PMC9631687.
  • Jessa R, Chien N, Villa D, Freeman CL, Slack GW, Savage KJ, Scott DW, Sehn LH, Song KW, Gerrie AS. Clinicopathological characteristics and long-term outcomes of plasmablastic lymphoma in British Columbia. Brit J Haematol. 2022 Oct.199(2):230-238. Pubmedid: 35961783.
  • Freeman CL, Pararajalingam P, Jin L, Balasubramanian S, Jiang A, Xu W, Grau M, Zapukhlyak M, Boyle M, Hodkinson B, Schaffer M, Enny C, Deshpande S, Sun S, Vermeulen J, Morin RD, Scott DW, Lenz G. Molecular determinants of outcomes in relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma treated with ibrutinib or temsirolimus in the MCL3001 (RAY) trial. Leukemia. 2022 Oct.36(10):2479-2487. Pubmedid: 35963941.
  • Chahal M, Hayden A, Savage KJ, Villa D, Scott DW, Gerrie AS, Lo A, Chan M, Pickles T, Connors JM, Sehn LH, Freeman CL. Outcomes after initial refusal of curative treatment in patients with classic Hodgkin lymphoma. Leuk Lymphoma. 2022 Nov.63(11):2739-2742. Pubmedid: 35749607.
  • Cheng PTM, Villa D, Gerrie AS, Freeman CL, Slack GW, Gascoyne RD, Farinha P, Craig JW, Skinnider B, Wilson D, Scott DWW, Connors JM, Sehn LH, Savage KJ. The outcome of older adults with classic Hodgkin lymphoma in British Columbia. Blood Adv. 2022 Nov.6(22):5924-5932. Pubmedid: 36075016. Pmcid: PMC9701622.
  • Wang X, Nissen M, Gracias D, Kusakabe M, Simkin G, Jiang A, Duns G, Sarkozy C, Hilton L, Chavez EA, Segat GC, Wong R, Kim J, Aoki T, Islam R, May C, Hung S, Tyshchenko K, Brinkman RR, Hirst M, Karsan A, Freeman C, Sehn LH, Morin RD, Roth AJ, Savage KJ, Craig JW, Shah SP, Steidl C, Scott DW, Weng AP. Single-cell profiling reveals a memory B cell-like subtype of follicular lymphoma with increased transformation risk. Nat Commun. 2022 Nov.13(1):6772. Pubmedid: 36351924. Pmcid: PMC9646774.
  • Logue JM, Peres LC, Hashmi H, Colin-Leitzinger C, Shrewsbury AM, Hosoya H, Gonzalez R, Copponex C, Kottra KH, Hovanky V, Sahaf B, Patil S, Lazaryan A, Jain MD, Baluch A, Klinkova O, Bejanyan N, Faramand RG, Elmariah H, Khimani F, Davila ML, Mishra A, Blue B, Grajales-Cruz AF, Castaneda Puglianini O, Liu H, Nishihori T, Freeman CL, Brayer J, Shain KH, Baz R, Locke FL, Alsina M, Sidana S, Hansen DK. Early cytopenias and infections after standard of care idecabtagene vicleucel in relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. Blood Adv. 2022 Dec.6(24):6109-6119. Pubmedid: 35939783. Pmcid: PMC9768247.
  • Wood AC, Perez AP, Arciola B, Patel K, Johnson G, DiMaggio E, Bachmeier CA, Reid K, Carallo S, Vargas MH, Faramand R, Chavez JC, Shah B, Gaballa S, Khimani F, Elmariah H, Nishihori T, Lazaryan A, Freeman C, Davila ML, Locke FL, Mhaskar R, Bassil C, Jain MD. Outcomes of CD19-Targeted Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cell Therapy for Patients with Reduced Renal Function Including Dialysis. Transplant Cell Ther. 2022 Dec.28(12):829.e1-829.e8. Pubmedid: 36174934. Pmcid: PMC9791940.
  • Pawlyn C, Khan AM, Freeman CL. Fitness and frailty in myeloma. Hematology Am Soc Hematol Educ Program. 2022 Dec.2022(1):337-348. Pubmedid: 36485137. Pmcid: PMC9820647.
  • Zhu K, Jamroz A, Huang S, Villa D, Freeman CL, Scott DW, Slack G, Sehn LH, Connors JM, Toze CL, Savage KJ, Gerrie AS. Outcomes of Hodgkin variant Richter transformation in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and small lymphocytic lymphoma in British Columbia. Brit J Haematol. 2022 Aug.198(4):684-692. Pubmedid: 35567407.
  • Cheng PTM, Villa D, Tonseth RP, Scott DW, Gerrie AS, Freeman CL, Pickles T, Lo AC, Farinha P, Craig JW, Slack GW, Gascoyne RD, Bénard F, Wilson D, Skinnider B, Connors JM, Sehn LH, Savage KJ. Outcome of limited-stage nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin lymphoma and the impact of a PET-adapted approach. Blood Adv. 2021 Sep.5(18):3647-3655. Pubmedid: 34438445. Pmcid: PMC8945586.
  • Moccia AA, Schaff K, Freeman C, Hoskins PJ, Klasa RJ, Savage KJ, Shenkier TN, Gascoyne RD, Connors JM, Sehn LH. Long-term outcomes of R-CEOP show curative potential in patients with DLBCL and a contraindication to anthracyclines. Blood Adv. 2021 Mar.5(5):1483-1489. Pubmedid: 33683338. Pmcid: PMC7948286.
  • Freeman CL, Savage KJ, Villa DR, Scott DW, Srour L, Gerrie AS, Brown MJ, Slack GW, Farinha P, Skinnider B, Morris J, Bénard F, Aquino-Parsons C, Lo A, Pickles T, Wilson DC, Tonseth P, Connors JM, Sehn LH. Long-term results of PET-guided radiation in patients with advanced-stage diffuse large B-cell lymphoma treated with R-CHOP. Blood. 2021 Feb.137(7):929-938. Pubmedid: 32871586.
  • Lo AC, Chen B, Samuel V, Savage KJ, Freeman C, Goddard K. Late effects in survivors treated for lymphoma as adolescents and young adults: a population-based analysis. J Cancer Surviv. 2021 Dec.15(6):837-846. Pubmedid: 33453004.
  • Urban R, Chow R, Pickles T, Chan M, Livergant J, Gerrie AS, Freeman C, Sehn L, Scott DW, Villa D, Farinha P, Gondara L, Savage KJ, Lo AC. The impact of surveillance imaging after curative-intent radiotherapy for limited-stage follicular lymphoma. Brit J Haematol. 2021 Dec.195(5):802-805. Pubmedid: 34734418.
  • Grant SJ, Freeman CL, Rosko AE. Treatment of older adult or frail patients with multiple myeloma. Hematology Am Soc Hematol Educ Program. 2021 Dec.2021(1):46-54. Pubmedid: 34889397. Pmcid: PMC8791156.
  • Raymakers AJN, Regier DA, Peacock SJ, Freeman CL. Health-related quality of life data collected in chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy clinical trials. J Cancer Policy. 2021 Dec.30:100304. Pubmedid: 35559800.
  • Collinge B, Ben-Neriah S, Chong L, Boyle M, Jiang A, Miyata-Takata T, Farinha P, Craig JW, Slack GW, Ennishi D, Mottok A, Meissner B, Chavez EA, Gerrie AS, Villa D, Freeman C, Savage KJ, Sehn LH, Morin RD, Mungall AJ, Gascoyne RD, Marra MA, Connors JM, Steidl C, Scott DW. The impact of MYC and BCL2 structural variants in tumors of DLBCL morphology and mechanisms of false-negative MYC IHC. Blood. 2021 Apr.137(16):2196-2208. Pubmedid: 33120427.
  • Lo AC, Samuel V, Chen B, Savage KJ, Freeman C, Goddard K. Evaluation of the discussion of late effects and screening recommendations in survivors of adolescent and young adult (AYA) lymphoma. J Cancer Surviv. 2021 Apr.15(2):179-189. Pubmedid: 32767044.
  • Freeman CL, Mikhael J. COVID-19 and myeloma: what are the implications for now and in the future?. Brit J Haematol. 2020 Jul.190(2):173-178. Pubmedid: 32428242. Pmcid: PMC7276733.
  • Villa D, Sehn LH, Savage KJ, Toze CL, Song K, den Brok WD, Freeman CL, Scott DW, Gerrie AS. Bendamustine and rituximab as induction therapy in both transplant-eligible and -ineligible patients with mantle cell lymphoma. Blood Adv. 2020 Aug.4(15):3486-3494. Pubmedid: 32735654. Pmcid: PMC7422137.
  • Freeman CL, Sehn LH. Initial Treatment of High Tumor Burden Follicular Lymphoma. Hematol Oncol Clin North Am. 2020 Aug.34(4):673-687. Pubmedid: 32586573.
  • Freeman CL, Kridel R, Moccia AA, Savage KJ, Villa DR, Scott DW, Gerrie AS, Ferguson D, Cafferty F, Slack GW, Farinha P, Skinnider B, Connors JM, Sehn LH. Early progression after bendamustine-rituximab is associated with high risk of transformation in advanced stage follicular lymphoma. Blood. 2019 Aug.134(9):761-764. Pubmedid: 31300404.
  • Chong LC, Ben-Neriah S, Slack GW, Freeman C, Ennishi D, Mottok A, Collinge B, Abrisqueta P, Farinha P, Boyle M, Meissner B, Kridel R, Gerrie AS, Villa D, Savage KJ, Sehn LH, Siebert R, Morin RD, Gascoyne RD, Marra MA, Connors JM, Mungall AJ, Steidl C, Scott DW. High-resolution architecture and partner genes of MYC rearrangements in lymphoma with DLBCL morphology. Blood Adv. 2018 Oct.2(20):2755-2765. Pubmedid: 30348671. Pmcid: PMC6199666.
  • Freeman CL, Sehn L. Anti-CD20 Directed Therapy of B Cell Lymphomas: Are New Agents Really Better?. Curr Oncol Rep. 2018 Nov.20(12):103. Pubmedid: 30483893.
  • Freeman CL, Sehn LH. A tale of two antibodies: obinutuzumab versus rituximab. Brit J Haematol. 2018 Jul.182(1):29-45. Pubmedid: 29741753.
  • Breen DP, Freeman CL, De Silva RN, Derakhshani S, Stevens J. Soft tissue plasmacytomas in multiple myeloma. Lancet. 2017 Nov.390(10107):2083. Pubmedid: 28844475.
  • Freeman CL, Gribben JG. Immunotherapy in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia (CLL). Curr Hematol Malig Rep. 2016 Feb.11(1):29-36. Pubmedid: 26857283. Pmcid: PMC4796351.
  • Kim YY, Carloni JD, Demarchi B, Sparks D, Reid DG, Kunitake ME, Tang CC, Duer MJ, Freeman CL, Pokroy B, Penkman K, Harding JH, Estroff LA, Baker SP, Meldrum FC. Tuning hardness in calcite by incorporation of amino acids. Nat Mater. 2016 Aug.15(8):903-910. Pubmedid: 27135858.
  • Freeman CL, Dixon M, Houghton R, Kreuzer KA, Fingerle-Rowson G, Herling M, Humphrey K, Böttcher S, de Costa CS, Iglesias V, Stilgenbauer S, Gribben J, Hallek M, Goede V. Role of CD20 expression and other pre-treatment risk factors in the development of infusion-related reactions in patients with CLL treated with obinutuzumab. Leukemia. 2016 Aug.30(8):1763-1766. Pubmedid: 26979130. Pmcid: PMC4980557.
  • Freeman CL, Morschhauser F, Sehn L, Dixon M, Houghton R, Lamy T, Fingerle-Rowson G, Wassner-Fritsch E, Gribben JG, Hallek M, Salles G, Cartron G. Cytokine release in patients with CLL treated with obinutuzumab and possible relationship with infusion-related reactions. Blood. 2015 Dec.126(24):2646-2649. Pubmedid: 26447188. Pmcid: PMC4671111.
  • Giles FJ, Krawczyk J, O'Dwyer M, Swords R, Freeman C. The role of inflammation in leukaemia. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2014 May.816:335-360. Pubmedid: 24818729.
  • Krawczyk J, Keane N, Swords R, O'Dwyer M, Freeman CL, Giles FJ. Perifosine--a new option in treatment of acute myeloid leukemia?. Expert Opin Inv Drug. 2013 Oct.22(10):1315-1327. Pubmedid: 23931614.
  • Krawczyk J, Keane N, Freeman CL, Swords R, O'Dwyer M, Giles FJ. 5-Azacytidine for the treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes. Expert Opin Pharmacother. 2013 Jun.14(9):1255-1268. Pubmedid: 23621771.
  • Freeman C, Keane N, Swords R, Giles F. Vosaroxin: a new valuable tool with the potential to replace anthracyclines in the treatment of AML?. Expert Opin Pharmacother. 2013 Jul.14(10):1417-1427. Pubmedid: 23688047.
  • Keane N, Freeman C, Swords R, Giles FJ. Elacytarabine: lipid vector technology under investigation in acute myeloid leukemia. Expert Rev Hematol. 2013 Feb.6(1):9-24. Pubmedid: 23373775.
  • Swords R, Freeman C, Giles F. Targeting the FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 in acute myeloid leukemia. Leukemia. 2012 Oct.26(10):2176-2185. Pubmedid: 22614177.
  • Keane N, Freeman C, Swords R, Giles FJ. EPHA3 as a novel therapeutic target in the hematological malignancies. Expert Rev Hematol. 2012 Jun.5(3):325-340. Pubmedid: 22780212.
  • Freeman CL, Swords R, Giles FJ. Amonafide: a future in treatment of resistant and secondary acute myeloid leukemia?. Expert Rev Hematol. 2012 Feb.5(1):17-26. Pubmedid: 22272701.
  • Jimenez-Zepeda VH, Heilman RL, Engel RA, Carey EJ, Freeman C, Rakela J, Mulligan DC, Fonseca R, Stewart AK. Monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance does not affect outcomes in patients undergoing solid organ transplants. Transplantation. 2011 Sep.92(5):570-574. Pubmedid: 21712755.

Grants

Title: Feasibility of Exercise Prehabilitation among Older Patients with Hematological Malignancies Preparing for Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-CELL Immunotherapy
Sponsor: Nat Institutes of Health
PI: Freeman, C.
Title: Developing a Proteomic Assay to Quantify Soluble B-cell Maturation Antigen and Determine the Effect of its Glycosylation on Targeted Immunotherapy
Sponsor: Moffitt Cancer Center
PI (Contact): Freeman, C., PI: Koomen, J.

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