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Evan Jacob Lipson, M.D.

Evan Jacob Lipson, M.D.

Headshot of Evan Jacob Lipson
  • Associate Professor of Oncology

Specializes in: Adults (18+ years)

Male

Expertise

Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC), Clinical Trials, Cutaneous Oncology, Immunotherapy, Medical Oncology, Melanoma, Merkel Cell Carcinoma, Skin Cancer ...read more

Research Interests

Melanoma; Immunotherapy

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Insurance Information

Main Phone

Outside of Maryland & Washington D.C.

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International Patients

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Locations

Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center

Appointment Phone: 410-955-8964
401 N. Broadway
Baltimore, MD 21231 map
Phone: 410-955-8893 | Fax: 410-955-8587

Sibley Memorial Hospital

Appointment Phone: 202-660-6500
5255 Loughboro Road, NW
1st Floor
Washington, DC 20016 map
Fax: 202-660-6501

Background

Dr. Lipson is an internationally-recognized skin cancer and immunotherapy specialist at Johns Hopkins.  He received his medical degree in 2005 from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, where he graduated with distinction in research.  He completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, and completed a Medical Oncology fellowship at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center.

Dr. Lipson leads cutting edge clinical trials for patients with melanoma and other skin cancers. As a member of the Johns Hopkins Melanoma and Cancer Immunology Programs, he focuses on evaluating novel therapies for patients with high-risk or advanced disease. Dr. Lipson’s publications include the first reports of organ transplant recipients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors for advanced cancer, and the first description of kidney retransplantation performed after immunotherapy–related organ rejection. Based on his published work, Dr. Lipson initiated a clinical trial testing a novel combination of immune-based therapies for kidney transplant recipients with advanced selected cancers. This trial is the first of its kind and is recruiting patients at several academic cancer centers across the US.

Dr. Lipson is a leader in the clinical development of relatlimab, an antibody blocking the LAG-3 immune checkpoint. He is the Principal Investigator of a phase 2 trial testing combination immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy—including anti-LAG-3—for patients with advanced basal cell carcinoma. In June 2021, Dr. Lipson presented findings from the first phase 3 study establishing the LAG-3 pathway as the third immune checkpoint pathway in history, after CTLA-4 and PD-1, for which blockade has clinical benefit.

In addition to his research activities, Dr. Lipson is an educator in the field of cancer immunotherapy. Many of his lectures focus on the management of immune-mediated drug toxicities associated with novel cancer drugs. Dr. Lipson conducts regular clinical practices in Baltimore, Maryland and at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C. as part of the multidisciplinary Melanoma Program at Johns Hopkins.

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Titles

  • Associate Professor of Oncology

Departments / Divisions

  • Medicine at Sibley Memorial Hospital
  • Oncology - Medical Oncology

Centers & Institutes

Education

Degrees

  • MD; Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (2005)

Residencies

  • Medicine; Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (2008)

Fellowships

  • Oncology; Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (2011)

Board Certifications

  • American Board of Internal Medicine (Medical Oncology) (2010)

Research & Publications

Research Summary

Dr. Lipson's primary research interest is in early-phase clinical trials for melanoma and other skin cancers. As a member of the Johns Hopkins Melanoma and Cancer Immunology Programs, he focuses on evaluating novel therapies for patients with high-risk or advanced disease. In particular, Dr. Lipson is involved in the clinical development of antibodies that block immune regulatory pathways such as PD-1/PD-L1. In 2013, he reported the most prolonged observation of patients with solid tumors responding to anti-PD-1 immunotherapy and the first evidence that re-induction therapy with anti-PD-1 after late tumor recurrence can be effective (Lipson et al, Clinical Cancer Research, 2013). Along similar lines, Dr. Lipson described PD-L1 expression in Merkel cell carcinoma and its association with increased tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, the presence of the causative Merkel cell polyomavirus, and improved overall survival. These findings suggest that an endogenous anti-tumor immune response promotes PD-L1 expression in the MCC microenvironment when polyomavirus is present and provide a rationale for therapies that are now in development for blocking PD-1/PD-L1 in patients with advanced Merkel cell carcinoma. (Lipson et al, Cancer Immunology Research, 2013)

Dr. Lipson received his medical degree from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. He completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, and completed a Medical Oncology fellowship at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center.

Clinical Trials

View Dr. Lipson's current research trials at Sibley Memorial Hospital here.

Selected Publications

View all on PubMed

Lipson EJ, Sharfman WH, Drake CG, Wollner I, Taube JM, Anders RA, Xu H, Yao S, Pons A, Chen L, Pardoll DM, Brahmer JR, Topalian SL. Durable cancer regression off-treatment and effective re-induction therapy with an anti-PD-1 antibody. Clinical Cancer Research. 2013;19(2):462-8

Lipson EJ, Vincent JG, Loyo M, Kagohara LT, Luber BS, Wang H, Xu H, Nayar SK, Wang TS, Sidransky D, Anders RA, Topalian SL, Taube JM. PD-L1 expression in the Merkel cell carcinoma microenvironment: Association with inflammation, Merkel cell polyomavirus and overall survival. Cancer Immunology Research. 2013;1:54-63

Topalian SL, Sznol M, McDermott DF, Kluger HM, Carvajal RD, Sharfman WH, Brahmer JR, Lawrence DP, Atkins MB, Powderly JD, Leming PD, Lipson EJ, Puzanov I, Smith DC, Taube JM, Wigginton JM, Kollia GD, Gupta A, Pardoll DM, Sosman JA, Hodi FS. Survival, Durable Tumor Remission, and Long-Term Safety in Patients with Advanced Melanoma Receiving Nivolumab. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2014;32(10):1020-1030

Lipson EJ, Bodell MA, Kraus ES, Sharfman WH. Successful administration of ipilimumab to two kidney transplant patients with metastatic melanoma. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2014;32(19):e69-e71

Activities & Honors

Honors

  • Eugene “Grouch” Collins Memorial Scholarship, Mount Sinai School of Medicine
  • Los Angeles Hillel Medical Scholarship, Mount Sinai School of Medicine
  • Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society, Mount Sinai School of Medicine
  • Arnold P. Gold Foundation Humanism Honor Society, Mount Sinai School of Medicine
  • Dr. John J. Bookman Memorial Prize in Internal Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine

Memberships

  • American Society for Clinical Oncology

    Member

  • Society for Melanoma Research

    Member

  • Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer

    Member

  • Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group

    Member

  • International immunosuppression & Transplant Skin Cancer Collaborative
  • European Society for Medical Oncology

Videos & Media

Recent News Articles and Media Coverage

Melanoma: Relatlimab and Nivolumab in First-Line Treatment of Advanced Disease, The ASCO Post

New Cancer treatments have perplexing side effects, The Washington Post, Jan 2, 2018

How Does Immunotherapy Work?, Melanoma Research Alliance, Feb. 2, 2016

In The Beginning, Hopkins Medicine, Fall 2014

Keytruda Just One of a New Class of Cancer Drugs to Restart the Immune System, Healthline News, Sept. 10, 2014

'Seize the Days' Project Documents a Life with Cancer, WAMU 88.5, Jan. 6, 2012

Giving Patients a Way to Share Their Stories, Cancer.Net, April 4, 2011

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