Photo of Professor Sandra Strauss

Professor Sandra Strauss

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Email:

Location:

  • University College Hospital

GMC/GDC number:

4228703

Professional background

Sandra Strauss is a senior clinical lecturer and honorary consultant medical oncologist. Her clinical post is based at University College London Hospital, part of the London Sarcoma Service, one of the largest sarcoma services in Europe. She specialises in the systemic treatment of bone and soft tissue sarcomas in both adults and teenagers.

Sandra began training as a medical oncologist working on the adolescent unit at the Middlesex Hospital where she developed an interest in sarcoma and teenage and young adult (TYA) cancer.  She completed a Cancer Research UK clinical fellowship to obtain a PhD (University of London) at St Bartholomew's Hospital investigating pre-clinical and clinical effects of novel treatments for cancer, and investigating translational markers to improve their effects. In 2009, she was awarded a career development award from the Sarcoma Alliance for Research through Collaboration (SARC), which allowed her to further her research aiming to identify new targets for the treatment of sarcoma; work that is ongoing in the UCL Cancer Institute. She has a strong interest in translating these findings into benefit for patients and early phase clinical trials, particularly in sarcomas affecting teenagers and young adults.

She is the chief investigator and principle investigator for a number of international and national phase I, II and III studies in sarcoma and  is leading a national cohort study in osteosarcoma, ICONIC. Shechairs the NCRI Sarcoma Clinical Studies Group Bone Subgroup and was recently appointed chair of the executive committee of the European EuroEwing consortium (EEC), a pan-European collaboration to improve outcome for patients with Ewing sarcoma.

She is a member of the the EORTC Soft Tissue and Bone Sarcoma Group and Innovative Therapies for Children with Cancer (ITCC) consortium and is the clinical lead for sarcoma and rare cancers for the Public Health England (PHE) National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (NCRAS). Here, she is particularly interested in understanding variations in patient pathways and access to specialist services to reduce inequalities and improve outcome for patients with rare cancers.

Specialties

Research interests

Her interest is in identifying new targets for therapy in osteosarcoma and Ewing's sarcoma and developing early phase clinical trials.

In 2009, she was awarded a career development award by the Sarcoma Alliance for Research through Collaboration (SARC) to identify novel targets to treat ‘micrometastatic’ disease in osteosarcoma.

She is the principal investigator for a number of clinical trials and is a member of the NCRI Sarcoma Clinical Studies Group and bone subgroup as well as the EORTC Soft Tissue and Bone Sarcoma Group.

Publications

Selected Publications

1. Younger E, Smrke A, Lidington E, Farag S, Ingley K, Chopra N, Maleddu A, Augustin Y, Merry E, Wilson R, Benson C, Miah A, Zaidi S, McTiernan A, Strauss SJ, Dileo P, Gennatas S, Husson O, Jones RL. Health-Related Quality of Life and Experiences of Sarcoma Patients during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Cancers 2020 Aug 14;12(8):E2288. doi: 10.3390/cancers12082288

2. Gennatas S, Chamberlain F, Carter T, Slater S, Cojocaru E, Lambourn B, Stansfeld A, Todd R, Verrill M, Ali N, Jones RL, Simmonds P, Keay N, McCarty H, Strauss S,et al. Real-world experience with doxorubicin and olaratumab in soft tissue sarcomas in England and Northern Ireland. Clin Sarcoma Res. 2020 May 6;10:9. doi: 10.1186/s13569-020-00131-x.

3. Anderton J, Moroz V, Marec-Bérard P, Gaspar N, Laurence V, Martín-Broto J, Sastre A, Gelderblom H, Owens C, Kaiser S, Fernández-Pinto M, Fenwick N, Evans A, Strauss S, Whelan J, Wheatley K, Brennan B. International randomised controlled trial for the treatment of newly diagnosed EWING sarcoma family of tumours - EURO EWING 2012 Protocol. Trials. 2020 Jan 17;21(1):96. doi: 10.1186/s13063-019-4026-8.

4. Prendergast SC, Strobl AC, Cross W, Pillay N, Strauss SJ, Ye H, Lindsay D, Tirabosco R, Chalker J, Mahamdallie SS, Sosinsky A; RNOH Pathology Laboratory and Biobank Team; Genomics England Research Consortium, Flanagan AM, Amary F. Sarcoma and the 100,000 Genomes Project: our experience and changes to practice. J Pathol Clin Res. 2020 Jun 23. doi: 10.1002/cjp2.174. Online ahead of print.

5. Steele CD, Tarabichi M, Oukrif, D; Webster, AP; Ye H; Fittall, M; Lombard, P; Martincorena, I; Tarpey, PS; Collord, G; Strauss, SJ, et al, Undifferentiated sarcomas develop through distinct tumour evolutionary pathways 2019 Cancer Cell 18;35(3):441-456.e8.

6. Smeland S, Bielack SS, Whelan J, Strauss S, et al. Survival and prognosis with osteosarcoma: outcomes in more than 2000 patients in the EURAMOS-1 (European and American Osteosarcoma Study) cohort. Eur J Cancer. 2019 109:36-50.

7. Casali PG, Bielack S, Abecassis N, Aro HT, Bauer S, Biagini R, Bonvalot S, Boukovinas I, Bovee JVMG, Brennan B, Brodowicz T, Broto JM, Brugières L, Buonadonna A, De Álava E, Dei Tos AP, Del Muro XG, Dileo P, Dhooge C, Eriksson M, Fagioli F, Fedenko A, Ferraresi V, Ferrari A, Ferrari S, Frezza AM, Gaspar N, Gasperoni S, Gelderblom H, Gil T, Grignani G, Gronchi A, Haas RL, Hassan B, Hecker-Nolting S, Hohenberger P, Issels R, Joensuu H, Jones RL, Judson I, Jutte P, Kaal S, Kager L, Kasper B, Kopeckova K, Krákorová DA, Ladenstein R, Le Cesne A, Lugowska I, Merimsky O, Montemurro M, Morland B, Pantaleo MA, Piana R, Picci P, Piperno-Neumann S, Pousa AL, Reichardt P, Robinson MH, Rutkowski P, Safwat AA, Schöffski P, Sleijfer S, Stacchiotti S, Strauss SJ, et al. ; ESMO Guidelines Committee, PaedCan and ERN EURACAN. Bone sarcomas: ESMO-PaedCan-EURACAN Clinical Practice Guidelines for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up Ann Oncol. 2018 Oct 1;29(Supplement_4):iv79-iv95. doi: 10.1093/annonc/mdy310.

8. Strauss SJ, Whelan JS. Current questions in bone sarcomas. Curr Opin Oncol. 2018 Jul; 30(4):252-259.

9. Holme H, Gulati A, Brough R, Fleuren EDG, Bajrami I, Campbell J, Chong IY, Costa-Cabral S, Elliott R, Fenton T, Frankum J, Jones SE, Menon M, Miller R, Pemberton HN, Postel-Vinay S, Rafiq R, Selfe JL, von Kriegsheim A, Munoz AG, Rodriguez J, Shipley J, van der Graaf WTA, Williamson CT, Ryan CJ, Pettitt S, Ashworth A, Strauss SJ*, Lord CJ*. Chemosensitivity profiling of osteosarcoma tumour cell lines identifies a model of BRCAness. Sci Rep. 2018 Jul 13;8(1):10614. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-29043*corresponding authors

10. Strauss, SJ, Anninga, J; Baglio, R; Baumhoer, D; et al. Report from the 4th European Bone Sarcoma Networking meeting: focus on osteosarcoma, Clin Sarcoma Res, 2018; 8:17; https:// doi.org / 10.1186/s13569-018-0103- (epub)

11. Schöffski,P; Kasper,B; Aamdal,S; Leahy,M; Rutkowski,P; Bauer,S; Gelderblom,H; Italiano,A; Lindner,LH; Hennig,I; Strauss,S; et al. Prospective, non-randomized, multicenter, phase 2 trial of crizotinib in patients with advanced, inoperable inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor with and without anaplastic lymphoma kinase gene alterations: EORTC study 90101 CREATE. Lancet Respiratory Medicine 2018 Jun;6 (6):431-441

12. Schöffski,P; Wozniak,A; Kasper,B; Aamdal,S; Leahy,M; Rutkowski,P; Bauer,S; Gelderblom,H; Italiano,A; Lindner,LH; Hennig,I; Strauss,S; et al. Activity and safety of crizotinib in patients with advanced, metastatic alveolar soft part sarcoma (ASPS) with rearrangement of TFE3. European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) phase 2 trial 90101 "CREATE". 2017 Ann Oncol. 2017 29(3):758-765

13. Schöffski P, Wozniak A, Casali PG, Rutkowski P, Blay JY, Lindner LH, Strauss SJ, et al. Activity and safety of crizotinib in patients with advanced clear cell sarcoma with MET alterations. European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer phase 2 trial 90101 "CREATE". 2017 Ann Oncol. 2017 Dec 1;28(12):3000-3008

14. Seddon B, Strauss SJ, Whelan J, et al. Gemcitabine and docetaxel versus doxorubicin as first-line treatment in previously untreated advanced unresectable or metastatic soft-tissue sarcomas (GeDDiS): a randomised controlled phase 3 trial. Lancet Oncol. 2017 18(10):1397-1410

15. Marina NM, Smeland S, Bielack SS, Bernstein M, Jovic G, Krailo MD, Hook JM, Arndt C, van den Berg H, Brennan B, Brichard B, Brown KL, Butterfass-Bahloul T, Calaminus G, Daldrup-Link HE, Eriksson M, Gebhardt MC, Gelderblom H, Gerss J, Goldsby R, Goorin A, Gorlick R, Grier HE, Hale JP, Hall KS, Hardes J, Hawkins DS, Helmke K, Hogendoorn PC, Isakoff MS, Janeway KA, Jürgens H, Kager L, Kühne T, Lau CC, Leavey PJ, Lessnick SL, Mascarenhas L, Meyers PA, Mottl H, Nathrath M, Papai Z, Randall RL, Reichardt P, Renard M, Safwat AA, Schwartz CL, Stevens MC, Strauss SJ,et al. Randomised Phase III Comparison of MAPIE vs MAP in patients with a Poor Response to pre-operative chemotherapy for newly-diagnosed high-grade osteosarcoma: results from the EURAMOS-1 trial. Lancet Oncology 2016 17(10):1396-1408.

16. Rothermundt C, Seddon BM, Dileo P, Strauss SJ, et al. Follow-up practices for high-grade extremity Osteosarcoma. BMC Cancer. 2016 16(1):301.

17. Scheipl S, Barnard M, Cottone L, Jorgensen M, Drewry DH, Zuercher WJ, Turlais F, Ye H, Leite AP, Smith JA, Leithner A, Möller P, Brüderlein S, Guppy N, Amary F, Tirabosco R, Strauss SJ, Pillay N, Flanagan AM. EGFR inhibitors Identified as a Potential Treatment for Chordoma in a Focused Compound Screen. J Pathol. 2016 Apr 22. doi: 10.1002/path.4729.

18. Campbell J, Ryan CJ, Brough R, Bajrami I, Pemberton HN, Chong IY, Costa-Cabral S, Frankum J, Gulati A, Holme H, Miller R, Postel-Vinay S, Rafiq R, Wei W, Williamson CT, Quigley DA, Tym J, Al-Lazikani B, Fenton T, Natrajan R, Strauss SJ, Ashworth A, Lord CJ. Large-Scale Profiling of Kinase Dependencies in Cancer Cell Lines. Cell Rep. 2016 (16)30126-7.

19. Kager L, Whelan J, Dirksen U, Hassan B, Anninga J, Bennister L, Bovée JV, Brennan B, Broto JM, Brugières L, Cleton-Jansen AM, Copland C, Dutour A, Fagioli F, Ferrari S, Fiocco M, Fleuren E, Gaspar N, Gelderblom H, Gerrand C, Gerß J, Gonzato O, van der Graaf W, Hecker-Nolting S, Herrero-Martín D, Klco-Brosius S, Kovar H, Ladenstein R, Lancia C, LeDeley MC, McCabe MG, Metzler M, Myklebost O, Nathrath M, Picci P, Potratz J, Redini F, Richter GH, Reinke D, Rutkowski P, Scotlandi K, Strauss S, et al. The ENCCA-WP7/EuroSarc/EEC/PROVABES/EURAMOS 3rd European Bone Sarcoma Networking Meeting/Joint Workshop of EU Bone Sarcoma Translational Research Networks; 2015. Workshop Report Clin Sarcoma Res. 2016 Mar 16;6:3

20. Ban J, Fourtouna A, Aryee D, van der Ent W, Kauer M, Niedan S, Machado I, Rodriguez-Galindo C, Tirado OM, Alberghini M, Flanagan AM, Berg V, Strauss SJ, Scotlandi K, Lawlor ER, Snaar-Jagalska E, Llombart-Bosch A, Kovar H. Suppression of deacetylase SIRT1 links HEY1 to p53 activation in tumor suppressive NOTCH response and offers a novel treatment option in metastatic Ewing sarcoma. Cancer Research, 2014 74 (22):6578-88.

21. Koelblinger C1, Strauss S, Gillams A. Outcome after radiofrequency ablation of sarcoma lung metastases. Cardiovasc Intervent Radiol. 2014 Feb;37(1):147-53.

22. Rothermundt C, Whelan JS, Dileo P, Strauss SJ, et al. What is the role of routine follow-up for localised limb soft tissue sarcomas? A retrospective analysis of 174 patients. Br J Canc, 2014.

23. Fernanda AM, Ye H, Berisha F, Khatri B, Forbes G, Lehovsky K, Frezza AM, Behjati S, Tarpey P, Pillay N, Campbell PJ, Tirabosco R, Presneau N, Strauss SJ, Flanagan AM. Fibroblastic growth factor receptor 1 amplification in osteosarcoma is associated with poor response to neo-adjuvant chemotherapy. Cancer Med. 2014.

24. Frezza AM, Beale T, Bomanji J, Jay A, Kalavrezos N, Dileo P, Whelan J, Strauss SJ. Is [F-18]-fluorodeoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography of value in the management of patients with craniofacial bone sarcomas undergoing neo-adjuvant treatment? BMC Cancer. 2014 Jan 15;14(1):23. doi: 10.1186/1471-2407-14-23.

25. Mendoza-Naranjo, A, El-Naggar A, Wai DH, Zhu Q, Mistry P, Lazic N, Ayala F, da Cunha I, Rodriguez-Viciana P, Farrar JE, Soares FA, Flanagan A, Reynolds P, Triche T, Arceci RJ, Strauss SJ, Sorensen PHB. ErbB4is a novel driver of metastasis in Ewing sarcoma. EMBO Molecular Medicine, 2013 May 16. doi: 10.1002/emmm.201202343.

26. Whelan J, Khan A, Sharma A, Dileo P, Michelagnoli M, Seddon B, Strauss S. Interval compressed vincristine, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide alternating with ifosfamide, etoposide in patients with advanced Ewing's and other Small Round Cell Sarcomas. Clin Sarcoma Res. 2012

27. Lombardo CM, Welsh SJ, Strauss SJ, et al. A novel series of G-quadruplex ligands with selectivity for HIF-expressing osteosarcoma and renal cancer cell lines. Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2012 Sep 15;22(18):5984-8. doi: 10.1016/j.bmcl.2012.07.009. Epub 2012 Jul 14.

28. Whelan JS; Mctiernan, A; Cooper, N; Francis, M; Strauss SJ. Incidence and survival of malignant bone sarcomas 1971-2007, Int Journal of Cancer, 15;131(4):E508-17, 2012.

29. Windsor R; Strauss SJ et al. Germline genetic polymorphisms may influence chemotherapy response and disease outcome in osteosarcoma: a pilot study. Cancer 118(7), 2012.

30. Strauss SJ, Ng T, Mendoza-Naranjo A. Understanding micrometastatic disease in Ewing’s Family Tumors and Osteosarcoma. The Oncologist 15(6):627-35, 2010.

31. Turner NC, Strauss SJ, Sarker D, Gillmore R, Kirkwood A, Hackshaw A, Papadopoulou A, Bell J, Kayani I, Toumpanakis C, Grillo F, Mayer A, Hochhauser D, Begent RH, Caplin ME, Meyer T. Chemotherapy with 5-fluorouracil, cisplatin and streptozocin for neuroendocrine tumours. Br J Cancer. 2010 Mar 30;102(7):1106-12. doi: 10.1038/sj.bjc.6605618. Epub 2010 Mar 16.

32. Strauss SJ, Higginbottom K, Jüliger S, Maharaj L, Allen P, Schenkein D, Lister TA, Joel SP. The proteasome inhibitor bortezomib acts independently of p53 and induces cell death via apoptosis and mitotic catastrophe in B-cell lymphoma cell lines. Cancer Res. 2007 Mar 15;67(6):2783-90.

33. Strauss, SJ F Morschauser, M Gramatzki,et al. Multi-centre, phase II study of combination antibody therapy with epratuzumab plus rituximab in relapsed/ refractory indolent and aggressive NHL. J Clin Oncol 24(24); 3880-6, 2006.

34. Strauss SJ, L Maharaj, S. Hoare, et al. Bortezomib in patients with relapsed, refractory Lymphoma: Potential correlation of TNF response and in vitro sensitivity with clinical activity. J Clin Oncol 24(13):2105-12, 2006

35. Strauss SJ, McTiernan A, Whelan JS. Late Relapse in Osteosarcoma: implications for follow-up and screening. Pediatr Blood Cancer 43 (6): 692 – 697, 2004.

36. Strauss SJ, McTiernan A, Driver D, et al. A single centre experience of a dose intensive induction regimen (VIDE) in patients with Ewing’s Family of Tumours. J Clin Oncol 21(15), 2003