Vaia Florou
( out of 181 reviews )

Vaia Florou, MD, MS

Languages spoken: English, Modern Greek

Vaia Florou is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Oncology at Huntsman Cancer Institute of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. Her clinical and research interests are focused on sarcomas and gastrointestinal malignancies, with an emphasis on immunotherapy and targeted therapies. Dr. Florou received her medical degree from the University of Patras in Patras, Greece. Prior to her clinical training, she was a research fellow at the University of Cologne in Germany, where she studied the B-cell receptor signaling in CLL. She then completed her Internal Medicine Residency at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson/Saint Peter’s University Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey with an additional year as Chief Medical Resident. She pursued a Hematology and Oncology fellowship at the University of Miami in Miami, Florida where she graduated from in 2019.

She is involved in clinical trials aiming to improve immunotherapy efficacy in sarcomas and gastrointestinal malignancies. Her research has been presented at various national and international conferences including ASCO, AACR, SITC, ISTH and CTOS. She is also a member of several professional organizations like the American Society of Clinical Oncology, European Society for Medical Oncology, Connective Tissue Oncology Society and Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer.

Specialties

Board Certification

American Board of Internal Medicine (Sub: Medical Oncology)
American Board of Internal Medicine

Patient Rating

4.9 /5
( out of 181 reviews )

The patient rating score is an average of all responses on our patient experience survey. The rating averages scores for all questions about care from our providers.

The scale on which responses are measured is 1 to 5 with 5 being the best score.

Patient Comments

Patient comments are gathered from our patient experience survey and displayed in their entirety. For the convenience of our visitors, some patient comments have been translated from their original language into English while preserving their original meaning as accurately as possible. Patients are de-identified for confidentiality and patient privacy.

HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

She is wonderful. I never feel rushed or hurried. She Answers all my concerns and questions. She is always pleasant and nice. She will ask us about our lives also. I like her and would refer anyone to her

HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

Great with me, vary understanding.

HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

Very knowledgeable and caring.

HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

Awesome

HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

She is extremely knowledgeable. She remembers your entire care history.

HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

Gaia Florou is a great Dr

HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

Like I said shes great. A literal life saver.

HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

Dr Florou is very informative and explains treatment exceptionally well and easy to understand. Listens and answers questions with compassion.

HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

She is an absolute amazing person and Dr

Vaia Florou is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Oncology at Huntsman Cancer Institute of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. Her clinical and research interests are focused on sarcomas and gastrointestinal malignancies, with an emphasis on immunotherapy and targeted therapies. Dr. Florou received her medical degree from the University of Patras in Patras, Greece. Prior to her clinical training, she was a research fellow at the University of Cologne in Germany, where she studied the B-cell receptor signaling in CLL. She then completed her Internal Medicine Residency at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson/Saint Peter’s University Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey with an additional year as Chief Medical Resident. She pursued a Hematology and Oncology fellowship at the University of Miami in Miami, Florida where she graduated from in 2019.

She is involved in clinical trials aiming to improve immunotherapy efficacy in sarcomas and gastrointestinal malignancies. Her research has been presented at various national and international conferences including ASCO, AACR, SITC, ISTH and CTOS. She is also a member of several professional organizations like the American Society of Clinical Oncology, European Society for Medical Oncology, Connective Tissue Oncology Society and Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer.

Board Certification and Academic Information

Academic Departments Internal Medicine -Associate Professor (Clinical)
Academic Divisions Oncology
Board Certification
American Board of Internal Medicine (Sub: Medical Oncology)
American Board of Internal Medicine

Education history

Professional Medical Medicine - University of Patras, Faculty of Medicine M.D.
Research Fellow Hematology/Oncology - University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine Research Fellow
Residency Internal Medicine - Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School/Saint Peter¿s University Hospital Resident
Graduate Training Strategic Healthcare Management Program - Rutgers University/Saint Peter¿s University Hospital Mini-M.B.A.
Chief Resident Internal Medicine - Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School/Saint Peter¿s University Hospital Chief Resident
Fellowship Hematology/Oncology - Jackson Memorial Hospital/University of Miami Clinical Fellow
Graduate Training Biomedical Informatics - University of Utah M.S.

Selected Publications

Journal Article

  1. Florou V, Ramdial JL, Trent JC (2018). Use of Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors in Patients With GI Stromal Tumor Who Are Pregnant or Considering Pregnancy: Driver Mutations and Circulating Tumor DNA. J Clin Oncol, 36(25), 2659-60.
  2. Florou V, Ramdial J, Trent J (2017). GIST in Pregnancy: The Role of Circulating Tumor DNA to Define the Assessment of Risk of Rapid Progression and Response to Imatinib. American journal of hematology/oncology, 13(11), 37-40.
  3. Wilky BA, Trucco MM, Subhawong TK, Florou V, Park W, Kwon D, Wieder ED, Kolonias D, Rosenberg AE, Kerr DA, Sfakianaki E, Foley M, Merchan JR, Komanduri KV, Trent J (2019). Axitinib plus pembrolizumab in patients with advanced sarcomas including alveolar soft-part sarcoma: a single-centre, single-arm, phase 2 trial. The Lancet. Oncology, (10.1016), 30153-6.
  4. Florou V, Rosenberg AE, Wieder E, Komanduri K V, Kolonias D, Uduman M, Castle JC, Buell JS, Trent JC, Wilky B (2019). Angiosarcoma patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors: a case series of seven patients from a single institution. Journal for immunotherapy of cancer,
  5. Chae YK, Viveiros P, Lopes G, Sukhadia B, Sheikh MM, Saravia D, Florou V, Sokol ES, Frampton GM, Chalmers ZR, Ali SM, Ross JS, Chang S, Wang S, Chiec L, Rahbari A, Mohindra N, Villaflor V, Shin SH, Oh M, Anker J, Park LC, Wang V, Chuang J, Park (2019). Clinical and immunological implications of frameshift mutations in lung cancer. Journal of thoracic oncology, (10.1016),
  6. Naqash AR, Ricciuti B, Owen DH, Florou V et a (2020). Outcomes associated with immune-related adverse events in metastatic non-small cell lung cancer treated with nivolumab: a pooled exploratory analysis from a global cohort. Cancer immunology, immunotherapy, s00262-020-02536-5(10.1007), 1177-1187.
  7. Florou V, Jarboe E, Deftereos (2021). Intravenous Leiomyomatosis: A Rare Diagnosis With Aggressive Potential. JCO oncology practice, 17(4), 206-208.
  8. Kourouni I, Aesif SW, Tamarkin SW, Bolen M, Sivak E, Shaman Z, Tamaskar I, Florou (2021). A 51-year-old man with chronic cough and left hilar prominence. Breathe (Sheffield, England), 17(2), 210018.
  9. Naqash AR, Ricciuti B, Owen DH, Florou V, Toi Y, Cherry C, Hafiz M, De Giglio A, Muzaffar M, Patel SH, Sugawara S, Burkart J, Park W, Chiari R, Sugisaka J, Otterson GA, de Lima Lopes G, Walker P (2020). Outcomes associated with immune-related adverse events in metastatic non-small cell lung cancer treated with nivolumab: a pooled exploratory analysis from a global cohort. Cancer immunology, immunotherapy, 69(7), 1177-1187.
  10. Nevala-Plagemann C, Sama S, Ying J, Shen J, Haaland B, Florou V, Garrido-Laguna (2023). A Real-World Comparison of Regorafenib and Trifluridine/Tipiracil in Refractory Metastatic Colorectal Cancer in the United States. Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, 21(3), 257-264.
  11. Miotke L, Nevala-Plagemann C, Ying J, Florou V, Haaland B, Garrido-Laguna (2022). Treatment outcomes in recurrent versus de novo metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma: a real world study. BMC cancer, 22(1), 1054.
  12. Pauley K, Koptiuch C, Greenberg S, Kohlmann W, Jeter J, Colonna S, Werner T, Kinsey C, Gilcrease G, Weis J, Whisenant J, Florou V, Garrido-Laguna (2022). Discrepancies between tumor genomic profiling and germline genetic testing. ESMO open, 7(4), 100526.
  13. Azeem Khan M, Florou V, Swami (2021). Immunotherapy and fatigue: what we know and what we don't know. Oncotarget, 12(8), 719-720.
  14. Miotke L, Norton C, Rubnitz Z, Florou V, Nevala-Plagemann C, Garrido-Laguna (2025). Impact of DNA damage repair alterations on real-world response to therapy in metastatic colorectal cancer. ESMO open, 10(9), 105768.
  15. Lagos G, Groisberg R, Elliott A, Dizon DS, Seeber A, Gibney GT, von Mehren M, Cardona K, Demeure MJ, Riedel RF, Florou V, Chou AJ, Modiano JF, Kumar A, Khushman MM, D'Amato GZ, Espejo Freire AP, DeNardo B, Trent J (2025). Large-Scale Multiomic Analysis Identifies Anatomic Differences and Immunogenic Potential in Subtypes of Leiomyosarcoma. Clinical cancer research, 31(11), 2210-2221.
  16. Expert Panel on Musculoskeletal Imaging, Ahlawat S, Lenchik L, Baker JC, Allen H, Banks J, Florou V, Garner HW, Hammer MR, Hiniker SM, Kamel SI, Lu Y, Peairs KS, Scott JA, Wessell D (2025). ACR Appropriateness Criteria® Suspected Primary Bone Tumors: 2024 Update. Journal of the American College of Radiology, 22(5S), S440-S454.
  17. Boland PM, Lenz HJ, Ciombor KK, Florou V, Pishvaian MJ, Cusnir M, Cohen D, Guo JY, Tang M, Rajagopalan P, Wiley SE, Ghalie RG, Hochster H (2025). A Phase 1b study of the OxPhos inhibitor ME-344 with bevacizumab in refractory metastatic colorectal cancer. Investigational new drugs, 43(1), 60-68.
  18. Norton C, Shaw MS, Rubnitz Z, Smith J, Soares HP, Nevala-Plagemann CD, Garrido-Laguna I, Florou (2025). KRAS Mutation Status and Treatment Outcomes in Patients With Metastatic Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma. JAMA network open, 8(1), e2453588.
  19. Ilozumba MN, Lin T, Hardikar S, Byrd DA, Round JL, Stephens WZ, Holowatyj AN, Warby CA, Damerell V, Li CI, Figueiredo JC, Toriola AT, Shibata D, Fillmore GC, Pickron B, Siegel EM, Kahlert C, Florou V, Gigic B, Ose J, Ulrich C (2024). Fusobacterium nucleatum Abundance is Associated with Cachexia in Colorectal Cancer Patients: The ColoCare Study. Cancer medicine, 13(22), e70431.
  20. Chen CT, Khanna V, Kummar S, Abdul-Karim RM, Sommerhalder D, Tolcher AW, Ueno NT, Davis SL, Orr DW, Hamilton E, Patel MR, Spira AI, Jauhari S, Florou V, Duff M, Xu R, Wang J, Barkund SR, Zhou H, Pankov A, Kong W, Jahchan NS, Jackson EL, Sun JD, Junttila MR, Multani PS, Daemen A, Chow Maneval E, Munster P (2024). ORIC-101, a Glucocorticoid Receptor Antagonist, in Combination with Nab-Paclitaxel in Patients with Advanced Solid Tumors. Cancer research communications, 4(9), 2415-2426.
  21. Jayakrishnan T, Baca Y, Xiu J, Patel M, Weinberg BA, Lou E, Datta J, Khushman M, Gulhati P, Goel S, Biachi de Castria T, Florou V, Nair KG, Kamath SD, Khorana A (2024). Molecular Differences With Therapeutic Implications in Early-Onset Compared With Average-Onset Biliary Tract Cancers. JCO precision oncology, 8, e2400138.
  22. Faber EB, Krause HB, Amin K, Walker P, Hosein PJ, Shields AF, Lenz HJ, Prakash A, Goel S, Oberley M, Malleo G, Luchini C, Hwang J, Florou V, Garrido-Laguna I, Lou (2024). Genomic Profiling of Rare Undifferentiated Sarcomatoid Subtypes of Pancreatic Carcinomas: In Search of Therapeutic Targets. JCO precision oncology, 8, e2300595.
  23. Smith JT, Sama S, Florou V, Nevala-Plagemann C, Garrido-Laguna (2023). Durable response to first-line PARP inhibition in BRCA-mutated metastatic cholangiocarcinoma: case report. Journal of gastrointestinal oncology, 14(6), 2637-2643.
  24. Florou V, Elliott A, Bailey MH, Stone D, Affolter K, Soares HP, Nevala-Plagemann C, Scaife C, Walker P, Korn WM, Lou E, Shroff RT, Hosein PJ, Garrido-Laguna (2023). Comparative Genomic Analysis of Pancreatic Acinar Cell Carcinoma (PACC) and Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) Unveils New Actionable Genomic Aberrations in PACC. Clinical cancer research, 29(17), 3408-3417.
  25. Florou V, Floudas CS, Maoz A, Naqash AR, Norton C, Tan AC, Sokol ES, Frampton G, Soares HP, Puri S, Swami U, Wilky B, Hosein P, Trent J, Lopes GL, Park W, Garrido-Laguna (2023). Real-world pan-cancer landscape of frameshift mutations and their role in predicting responses to immune checkpoint inhibitors in cancers with low tumor mutational burden. Journal for immunotherapy of cancer, 11(8),
  26. El Zarif T, Nassar AH, Adib E, Fitzgerald BG, Huang J, Mouhieddine TH, Rubinstein PG, Nonato T, McKay RR, Li M, Mittra A, Owen DH, Baiocchi RA, Lorentsen M, Dittus C, Dizman N, Falohun A, Abdel-Wahab N, Diab A, Bankapur A, Reed A, Kim C, Arora A, Shah NJ, El-Am E, Kozaily E, Abdallah W, Al-Hader A, Abu Ghazal B, Saeed A, Drolen C, Lechner MG, Drakaki A, Baena J, Nebhan CA, Haykal T, Morse MA, Cortellini A, Pinato DJ, Dalla Pria A, Hall E, Bakalov V, Bahary N, Rajkumar A, Mangla A, Shah V, Singh P, Aboubakar Nana F, Lopetegui-Lia N, Dima D, Dobbs RW, Funchain P, Saleem R, Woodford R, Long GV, Menzies AM, Genova C, Barletta G, Puri S, Florou V, Idossa D, Saponara M, Queirolo P, Lamberti G, Addeo A, Bersanelli M, Freeman D, Xie W, Reid EG, Chiao EY, Sharon E, Johnson DB, Ramaswami R, Bower M, Emu B, Marron TU, Choueiri TK, Baden LR, Lurain K, Sonpavde GP, Naqash A (2023). Safety and Activity of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in People Living With HIV and Cancer: A Real-World Report From the Cancer Therapy Using Checkpoint Inhibitors in People Living With HIV-International (CATCH-IT) Consortium. Journal of clinical oncology, 41(21), 3712-3723.
  27. Florou V, Garrido-Laguna (2020). Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Gastrointestinal Malignancies: What Is the Path Forward?. Journal of immunotherapy and precision oncology, 3(3), 137-139.
  28. Naqash AR, Ricciuti B, Owen DH, Florou V, Toi Y, Cherry C, Hafiz M, De Giglio A, Muzaffar M, Patel SH, Sugawara S, Burkart J, Park W, Chiari R, Sugisaka J, Otterson GA, de Lima Lopes G, Walker P (2020). Correction to: Outcomes associated with immune-related adverse events in metastatic non-small cell lung cancer treated with nivolumab: a pooled exploratory analysis from a global cohort. Cancer immunology, immunotherapy, 69(7), 1189.

Review

  1. Warner K, Crispatzu G, Al-Ghaili N, Weit N, Florou V, You MJ, Newrzela S, Herling M (2013). Models for mature T-cell lymphomas--a critical appraisal of experimental systems and their contribution to current T-cell tumorigenic concepts. [Review]. Crit Rev Oncol Hematol, 88, (3), 680-95.
  2. Florou V, Wilky B (2018). Current and Future Directions for Angiosarcoma Therapy. Current treatment options in oncology, 19(3), 14.
  3. Alavi SN, Florou V, Tinoco G, Trent JC, Wilky B (2018). A precision medicine approach in sarcoma: identification of patients who may benefit from early use of pazopanib. Discovery medicine, 25(137), 131-44.
  4. Florou V, Wilky BA, Trent J (2017). Latest advances in adult gastrointestinal stromal tumors. Future oncology (London, England), 13(24), 2183-93.
  5. Mittra A, Takebe N, Florou V, Chen AP, Naqash A (2021). The emerging landscape of immune checkpoint inhibitor based clinical trials in adults with advanced rare tumors. Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics, 17(7), 1935-1939.
  6. Bindal P, Gray JE, Boyle TA, Florou V, Puri (2021). Biomarkers of therapeutic response with immune checkpoint inhibitors. Annals of translational medicine, 9(12), 1040.
  7. Marron TU, Ryan AE, Reddy SM, Kaczanowska S, Younis RH, Thakkar D, Zhang J, Bartkowiak T, Howard R, Anderson KG, Olson D, Naqash AR, Patel RB, Sachdev E, Rodriguez-Ruiz ME, Sheffer M, Church S, Fuhrman C, Overacre-Delgoffe A, Nguyen R, Florou V, Thaxton JE, Aggen DH, Guerriero J (2021). Considerations for treatment duration in responders to immune checkpoint inhibitors. Journal for immunotherapy of cancer, 9(3),
  8. Florou V, Wilky B (2021). Current Management of Angiosarcoma: Recent Advances and Lessons From the Past. Current treatment options in oncology, 22(7), 61.
  9. Florou V, Puri S, Garrido-Laguna I, Wilky B (2021). Considerations for immunotherapy in patients with cancer and comorbid immune dysfunction. Annals of translational medicine, 9(12), 1035.
  10. Florou V, Trent JC, Wilky B (2019). Precision medicine in gastrointestinal stromal tumors. Discovery medicine, 28(155), 267-276.
  11. Florou V, Garrido-Laguna (2022). Clinical Development of Anti-TIGIT Antibodies for Immunotherapy of Cancer. Current oncology reports, 24(9), 1107-1112.
  12. Florou V, Wilky B (2022). Emerging mechanisms of immunotherapy resistance in sarcomas. Cancer drug resistance (Alhambra, Calif.), 5(1), 199-213.
  13. Florou V, Jacobs MF, Casey R, Evans D, Owens B, Raygada M, Rothschild S, Greenberg S (2025). A Review of Genomic Testing and SDH- Deficiency in Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors: Getting to the GIST. Cancer medicine, 14(3), e70669.
  14. Rubnitz Z, Nevala-Plagemann C, Florou V, Garrido-Laguna (2025). Gemcitabine-induced myositis in a patient with pancreatic cancer. BMJ case reports, 18(1),
  15. Vagher J, Mehrhoff CJ, Florou V, Maese L (2024). Genetic Predisposition to Sarcoma: What Should Clinicians Know?. Current treatment options in oncology, 25(6), 769-783.
  16. Plachouri KM, Florou V, Georgiou V, Georgiou (2023). Cutaneous Side Effects of Modern Targeted Therapy and Immunotherapy in Patients with Dermatological Malignancies. Cancers, 15(12),

Book Chapter

  1. Florou V, Nascimento AG, Gulia A, de Lima Lopes Jr (2018). Global Health Perspective in Sarcomas and Other Rare Cancers. 38, 916-24.

Case Report

  1. Cioffi JH, Estes DJ, Florou V, Ardalan (2017). Treatment of advanced colorectal cancer in a patient with cardiotoxic reactions to 5-fluorouracil and capecitabine using suboptimal doses.LID - bcr-2017-220952 [pii]LID - 10.1136/bcr-2017-220952 [doi]. BMJ case reports, 2017,
  2. Florou V, Nevala-Plagemann C, Whisenant J, Maeda P, Gilcrease GW, Garrido-Laguna (2021). Clinical Activity of Selitrectinib in a Patient With Mammary Analogue Secretory Carcinoma of the Parotid Gland With Secondary Resistance to Entrectinib. Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, 19(5), 478-482.
  3. Florou V, Nevala-Plagemann C, Barber KE, Mastroianni JN, Cavalieri CC, Garrido-Laguna (2020). Treatment Rechallenge With Checkpoint Inhibition in Patients With Mismatch Repair-Deficient Pancreatic Cancer After Planned Treatment Interruption. JCO precision oncology, 4,

Editorial

  1. Florou V, Garrido-Laguna (2019). Cancer immunotherapy in the immunosuppressed patients and its relevance to clinical practice. J Immunother Precis Oncol 2:127. Journal of immunotherapy and precision oncology,

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