Professor
Pathology
+1 415 514-6642
Dr. Balassanian is an associate professor in the Department of Pathology with a clinical focus in the fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy clinic, particularly with incorporating ultrasound guidance for FNA biopsy at UCSF. He is working to develop clinical applications for molecular diagnostics in the FNA setting and presents at the weekly Breast Tumor Board conference at UCSF. He currently collaborates with the Peru National Cancer Institute, Regional Cancer Institute, and Ministry of Health on community-based programs for improving breast health and a project to explore the biological implications of breast cancer protective variants in Latin American women with high indigenous American heritage.
Publications
The utility of next-generation sequencing in metastatic prostate cancer FNA biopsies.
Cancer cytopathology
American Society of Cytopathology (ASC) study group recommendations for practicing ultrasound guided-fine needle aspiration (US-FNA).
Journal of the American Society of Cytopathology
Pathologist performed ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration (US-FNA): current status, trends, and insights from the American Society of Cytopathology Sponsored Survey.
Journal of the American Society of Cytopathology
Datopotamab-deruxtecan in early-stage breast cancer: the sequential multiple assignment randomized I-SPY2.2 phase 2 trial.
Nature medicine
Change in Biomarker Profile After Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy is Prognostic and Common Among Patients with HER2+ Breast Cancer.
Annals of surgical oncology
Unleash your potential: Inside interventional pathology.
Cytopathology : official journal of the British Society for Clinical Cytology
Demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with metastatic breast cancer and leptomeningeal disease: a single center retrospective cohort study.
Breast cancer research and treatment
Wilms Tumor: An Unexpected Diagnosis in Adult Patients.
Archives of pathology & laboratory medicine
Utility and performance of cell blocks in cerebrospinal fluid cytology: Experience at two teaching hospitals.
Cancer cytopathology
Education and diversity in cytopathology: Past, present, and future.
Diagnostic cytopathology
Cytopathology in the era of social media.
Diagnostic cytopathology
Science, Medicine, and Cytology: an educational program of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee of the American Society of Cytopathology.
Journal of the American Society of Cytopathology
Fine needle aspiration biopsy in low- and middle-income countries.
Diagnostic cytopathology
Utility and performance of cell blocks in urine cytology: Experience at three teaching hospitals.
Cancer cytopathology
One procedure-one report: the Re-Imagine Cytopathology Task Force position paper on small tissue biopsy triage in anatomic pathology.
Journal of the American Society of Cytopathology
Small volume biopsy diagnostic yield at initial diagnosis versus recurrence/transformation of follicular lymphoma: A retrospective Cyto-Heme Interinstitutional Collaborative study.
Cancer cytopathology
Diagnostic Discrepancies in Small-volume Biopsy for the Initial Diagnosis, Recurrence, and Transformation of Follicular Lymphoma: A Multi-Institutional Collaborative Study.
The American journal of surgical pathology
Association of Residual Ductal Carcinoma In Situ With Breast Cancer Recurrence in the Neoadjuvant I-SPY2 Trial.
JAMA surgery
Telecytology versus in-room Cytopathologist for Endoscopic Ultrasound Fine Needle Aspiration or Biopsy of Solid Pancreatic Lesions.
Gastrointestinal endoscopy
Interventional cytology benefits patients undergoing thyroid FNA.
Cancer cytopathology
Treatment Efficacy Score - continuous residual cancer burden-based metric to compare neoadjuvant chemotherapy efficacy between randomized trial arms in breast cancer trials.
Annals of oncology : official journal of the European Society for Medical Oncology
Standardizing Pathologic Evaluation of Breast Carcinoma After Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy.
Archives of pathology & laboratory medicine
Limitations and opportunities for tumor infiltrating lymphocytes in breast FNA.
Cancer cytopathology
Global Cytopathology-Hematopathology Practice Trends.
American journal of clinical pathology
Corrigendum to: Global Cytopathology-Hematopathology Practice Trends.
American journal of clinical pathology
Utility and Outcomes of Pre-Operative Screening Breast MRI for Planned Bilateral Prophylactic Mastectomy in High-Risk Patients.
AJR. American journal of roentgenology
Impact of initial biopsy type on the time to final diagnostic biopsy in patients with follicular lymphoma and suspected histologic transformation.
Leukemia & lymphoma
Evaluation of diagnostic ultrasound use in a breast cancer detection strategy in Northern Peru.
PloS one
Early onset, multiple, bilateral fibroadenomas of the breast: a case report.
BMC women's health
Results from the 2019 American Society of Cytopathology survey on rapid onsite evaluation (ROSE)-part 2: subjective views among the cytopathology community.
Journal of the American Society of Cytopathology
Cutaneous T cell lymphoma PDX drug screening platform identifies cooperation between inhibitions of PI3Ka/d and HDAC.
The Journal of investigative dermatology
Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2-Positive Breast Cancer Is Associated with Indigenous American Ancestry in Latin American Women.
Cancer research
Stop using expired plasma for cell blocks.
Cancer cytopathology
Granulomatous inflammation diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration biopsy.
Journal of the American Society of Cytopathology
Results from the 2019 American Society of Cytopathology survey on rapid on-site evaluation-Part 1: objective practice patterns.
Journal of the American Society of Cytopathology
Efficacy of an Intensive, Ultrasound-Guided Fine-Needle Aspiration Biopsy Training Workshop in Tanzania.
Journal of Global Oncology
Improved Diagnostic Precision of Urine Cytology by Implementation of The Paris System and the Use of Cell Blocks.
Cancer cytopathology
Intratumor Heterogeneity of the Estrogen Receptor and the Long-term Risk of Fatal Breast Cancer.
Journal of the National Cancer Institute
Breast Cancer, Version 4.2017, NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology.
Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network : JNCCN
Tuberculosis mastitis presenting as bilateral breast masses.
Clinical imaging
Radiologic-Pathologic Correlation for Benign Results After MRI-Guided Breast Biopsy.
AJR. American journal of roentgenology
NCCN Guidelines Insights: Breast Cancer, Version 1.2017.
Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network : JNCCN
Fine-Needle Aspiration Biopsy of Palpable Breast Masses: Patterns of Clinical Use and Patient Experience.
Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network : JNCCN
A superior method for cell block preparation for fine-needle aspiration biopsies.
Cancer cytopathology
Invasive Breast Cancer Version 1.2016, NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology.
Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network : JNCCN
NCCN Guidelines Insights Breast Cancer, Version 1.2016.
Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network : JNCCN
"Score the Core" Web-based pathologist training tool improves the accuracy of breast cancer IHC4 scoring.
Human pathology
Breast Cancer Version 2.2015.
Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network : JNCCN
Gemtuzumab therapy for isolated extramedullary AML relapse following allogeneic stem-cell transplant.
Nature clinical practice. Oncology
Effectiveness of Toyota process redesign in reducing thyroid gland fine-needle aspiration error.
American journal of clinical pathology
Clinical Experience With Mammary Ductoscopy.
Annals of surgical oncology
Errors in thyroid gland fine-needle aspiration.
American journal of clinical pathology
Improving the quality of cytology diagnosis: root cause analysis for errors in bronchial washing and brushing specimens.
American journal of clinical pathology
Diagnosis of recurrent breast cancer by ductoscopy.
The breast journal
Association of breast cancer with papillary lesions identified at percutaneous image-guided breast biopsy.
American journal of surgery