

Biography
Dr. Heestand and his team take great pride in helping patients and their families face gastrointestinal cancer.
Outside of the clinic, Dr. Heestand enjoys playing the piano, teaching his kids about music, cooking for friends and family, and surfing the internet for interesting things to read.
Professional Summary
Education & Certifications
- Medical Education: University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine (2004) CA
- Board Certification: American Board of Internal Medicine, Medical Oncology (2010)
- Fellowship: Stanford University Hematology and Oncology Fellowship (2010) CA
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- Residency: University of California Davis (2007) CA
- Undergraduate, Harvard College (1998)
Administrative Appointments
- Hematology Oncology Fellowship Associate Director, Stanford University (2022 - 2024)
- Oncology Fellowship Director, Stanford University (2017 - 2022)
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Publications
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Racial Disparity in Consultation, Treatment, and the Impact on Survival in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
Simpson, D. R., Martinez, M. E., Gupta, S., Hattangadi-Gluth, J., Mell, L. K., Heestand, G., … Murphy, J. D. (2013). Racial Disparity in Consultation, Treatment, and the Impact on Survival in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer. JNCI-JOURNAL OF THE NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE, 105(23), 1814–20. -
A Novel Biomarker Panel Examining Response to Gemcitabine with or without Erlotinib for Pancreatic Cancer Therapy in NCIC Clinical Trials Group PA.3
Shultz, D. B., Pai, J., Chiu, W., Ng, K., Hellendag, M. G., Heestand, G., … Koong, A. C. (2016). A Novel Biomarker Panel Examining Response to Gemcitabine with or without Erlotinib for Pancreatic Cancer Therapy in NCIC Clinical Trials Group PA.3. PLOS ONE, 11(1). -
Approach to Patients With Pancreatic Cancer Without Detectable Metastases
Heestand, G. M., Murphy, J. D., & Lowy, A. M. (2015). Approach to Patients With Pancreatic Cancer Without Detectable Metastases. JOURNAL OF CLINICAL ONCOLOGY, 33(16), 1770-? -
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Molecular landscape of pancreatic cancer: implications for current clinical trials
Heestand, G. M., & Kurzrock, R. (2015). Molecular landscape of pancreatic cancer: implications for current clinical trials. ONCOTARGET, 6(7), 4553–4561. -
FGFR1 and NTRK3 actionable alterations in "Wild-Type" gastrointestinal stromal tumors.
Shi, E., Chmielecki, J., Tang, C.-M. M., Wang, K., Heinrich, M. C., Kang, G., … Sicklick, J. K. (2016). FGFR1 and NTRK3 actionable alterations in "Wild-Type" gastrointestinal stromal tumors. Journal of Translational Medicine, 14(1), 339. -
Topoisomerase expression and amplification in solid tumours: Analysis of 24,262 patients.
Heestand, G. M., Schwaederle, M., Gatalica, Z., Arguello, D., & Kurzrock, R. (2017). Topoisomerase expression and amplification in solid tumours: Analysis of 24,262 patients. European Journal of Cancer (Oxford, England : 1990), 83, 80–87. -
The Mutational Landscape of Gastrointestinal Malignancies as Reflected by Circulating Tumor DNA.
Riviere, P., Fanta, P. T., Ikeda, S., Baumgartner, J., Heestand, G. M., & Kurzrock, R. (2018). The Mutational Landscape of Gastrointestinal Malignancies as Reflected by Circulating Tumor DNA. Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, 17(1), 297–305. -
A novel biomarker panel examining response to adjuvant pancreatic cancer therapy in RTOG 9704
Heestand, G. M., Murphy, J. D., Moughan, J., Regine, W., Luo, J., Graber, M. S., … Koong, A. (2014). A novel biomarker panel examining response to adjuvant pancreatic cancer therapy in RTOG 9704. JOURNAL OF CLINICAL ONCOLOGY. AMER SOC CLINICAL ONCOLOGY. -
The Evolution of Modern Systemic Agents for Colorectal Cancer
Heestand, G., Kunz, P., & Fisher, G. A. (2010). The Evolution of Modern Systemic Agents for Colorectal Cancer. LOWER GASTROINTESTINAL MALIGNANCIES, 1(2), 249–60. -
A novel biomarker panel examining response to gemcitabine (G) with or without erlotinib (E) for pancreatic cancer (PA) therapy in NCIC clinical trials group PA.3.
Shultz, D., Pal, J., Graber, M. S., Heestand, G. M., Chang, D. T., Parulekar, W. R., … Koong, A. (2014). A novel biomarker panel examining response to gemcitabine (G) with or without erlotinib (E) for pancreatic cancer (PA) therapy in NCIC clinical trials group PA.3. JOURNAL OF CLINICAL ONCOLOGY. AMER SOC CLINICAL ONCOLOGY. -
Therapeutic Monitoring of Circulating DNA Mutations in Metastatic Cancer with Personalized Digital PCR.
Wood-Bouwens, C. M., Haslem, D., Moulton, B., Almeda, A. F., Lee, H., Heestand, G. M., … Ji, H. P. (2019). Therapeutic Monitoring of Circulating DNA Mutations in Metastatic Cancer with Personalized Digital PCR. The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics : JMD. -
Implementation of a cloud-based electronic patient-reported outcome (ePRO) platform in patients with advanced cancer.
Generalova, O., Roy, M., Hall, E., Shah, S. A., Cunanan, K., Fardeen, T., … Ramchandran, K. (2021). Implementation of a cloud-based electronic patient-reported outcome (ePRO) platform in patients with advanced cancer. Journal of Patient-Reported Outcomes, 5(1), 91. -
Single-molecule methylation profiles of cell-free DNA in cancer with nanopore sequencing.
Lau, B. T., Almeda, A., Schauer, M., McNamara, M., Bai, X., Meng, Q., … Ji, H. P. (2023). Single-molecule methylation profiles of cell-free DNA in cancer with nanopore sequencing. Genome Medicine, 15(1), 33. -
Beyond EGFR inhibitors in advanced colorectal cancer: Targeting BRAF and HER2.
Dao, V., & Heestand, G. (2023). Beyond EGFR inhibitors in advanced colorectal cancer: Targeting BRAF and HER2. Current Problems in Cancer, 47(4), 100960. -
COMPANION-002 A clinical trial of investigational drug CTX-009 plus paclitaxel vs paclitaxel in second line advanced BTC.
Azad, N., Hu, Z., Sahin, I., Iyer, R., Aranha, O., Hochster, H., … Javle, M. (2024). COMPANION-002 A clinical trial of investigational drug CTX-009 plus paclitaxel vs paclitaxel in second line advanced BTC. Future Oncology (London, England), 1–8. -
Biochemical, Radiographic, or Pathologic Response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Resected Pancreatic Cancer: Which is Best?
Ahmad, M. U., Javadi, C. S., Chang, J. D., Forgó, E., Delitto, D. J., Dua, M. M., … Poultsides, G. A. (2024). Biochemical, Radiographic, or Pathologic Response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Resected Pancreatic Cancer: Which is Best? Annals of Surgery.
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Molecular landscape of pancreatic cancer: implications for current clinical trials
Clinical Trials
Clinical trials are research studies that evaluate a new medical approach, device, drug, or other treatment. As a Stanford Health Care patient, you may have access to the latest, advanced clinical trials.
Open trials refer to studies currently accepting participants. Closed trials are not currently enrolling, but may open in the future.
- TPST-1120 as Monotherapy and in Combination With Nivolumab in Subjects With Advanced Cancers
- Gemcitabine Hydrochloride and Cisplatin With or Without Nab-Paclitaxel in Treating Patients With Newly Diagnosed Advanced Biliary Tract Cancers
- Nivolumab and Ipilimumab in Treating Patients With Esophageal and Gastroesophageal Junction Adenocarcinoma Undergoing Surgery
- A Study of CTX-009 in Combination With Paclitaxel in Adult Patients With Unresectable Advanced, Metastatic or Recurrent Biliary Tract Cancers (COMPANION-002)
- A Study of Nivolumab in Participants With Hepatocellular Carcinoma Who Are at High Risk of Recurrence After Curative Hepatic Resection or Ablation
Practice Locations
Gastrointestinal (GI) Cancer Program in Palo Alto Palo Alto, CA
Palo Alto, CAGastrointestinal (GI) Cancer Program in Palo Alto
875 Blake Wilbur Dr
Palo Alto , CA 94304
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