Specialty Areas
Breast Cancer, Geriatric Oncology
Chronology
BA Cum Laude: Lafayette College, 1964; MD Summa Cum Laude: State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, 1968; Medical Intern: Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, 1968-1969; Junior Assistant Resident: Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, 1969-1970; Research Fellow in Medicine/Clinical Fellow in Hematology: Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, 1972-1973; Fellow in Hematology: Children’s Hospital Medical Center (Boston), 1972-1973; Research Fellow in Hematology: Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, 1973-1974; Fellow in Oncology: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, 1973-1974; Assistant Professor of Medicine: Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Wake Forest University, 1974-1978; Associate Director for Clinical Research, Comprehensive Cancer Center of Wake Forest University, 1979-1995; Professor of Medicine: Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Wake Forest University, 1985-1996; Division Director, Hematology/Oncology: University of Vermont Fletcher Allen Health Care, 1996-2005; Associate Director for Clinical Research: Vermont Cancer Center, 1996-2005; Professor of Medicine, University of Vermont College of Medicine, 1996-2009; Adjunct Professor of Medicine: University of Vermont College of Medicine, 2009-2012; Professor of Medicine: University Of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, 2009-Present; Director of Geriatric Oncology: Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, 2009-Present; Mary Jones Hudson Distinguished Professor of Geriatric Oncology: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2015-Present
Research and Clinical Interests
Dr. Muss has devoted his career to breast cancer research with major interests in treatment of both early and late stages, treatment outcomes, and optimizing care for older women with breast cancer. He also has a major interest in biomarkers of aging and how they might serve as surrogate markers for help in predicting outcomes including toxicity and survival. He has served on numerous committees and boards and has played leadership roles in the American Board of Internal Medicine and the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology. He serves as the mentor for medical students, medicine residents, junior faculty, and Medical Oncology and Geriatric Oncology fellows. Dr. Muss is committed to working with trainees and mentoring them on research projects focused on breast cancer, geriatric oncology, and specifically outcomes research and translational studies concentrating on interventions to maintain and improve function in older adults treated for with cancer. He and Dr. Jan Busby-Whitehead, Chief of Geriatrics at UNC, also co-chair a training grant in geriatric oncology open to all oncology specialty trainees.
Selected Bibliography
Aleixo GFP, Williams GR, Nyrop KA, Muss HB, Shachar SS. Muscle composition and outcomes in patients with breast cancer: meta-analysis and systematic review. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2019 Oct;177(3):569-579. doi: 10.1007/s10549-019-05352-3. Epub 2019 Jul 11. Review. PMID: 31292800.
Koll TT, Magnuson A, Dale W, LaBarge MA, Leach CR, Mohile S, Muss H, Sedenquist M, Klepin HD. Developing a clinical and biological measures of aging core: Cancer and aging research group infrastructure. J Geriatr Oncol. 2019 Sep 16. pii: S1879-4068(19)30262-0. doi: 10.1016/j.jgo.2019.09.006. [Epub ahead of print] No abstract available. PMID: 31537478.
Aleixo GFP, Choi SK, Tan AJ, Nyrop KA, Deal AM, Wood WA, Jolly TA, Muss HB. Is “Geriatric” Assessment Just for Older Patients? Oncologist. 2019 Sep 13. pii: theoncologist.2019-0373. doi: 10.1634/theoncologist.2019-0373. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 31519794.
Muss HB, Polley MC, Berry DA, Liu H, Cirrincione CT, Theodoulou M, Mauer AM, Kornblith AB, Partridge AH, Dressler LG, Cohen HJ, Kartcheske PA, Perez EA, Wolff AC, Gralow JR, Burstein HJ, Mahmood AA, Sutton LM, Magrinat G, Parker BA, Hart RD, Grenier D, Hurria A, Jatoi A, Norton L, Hudis CA, Winer EP, Carey L. Randomized Trial of Standard Adjuvant Chemotherapy Regimens Versus Capecitabine in Older Women With Early Breast Cancer: 10-Year Update of the CALGB 49907 Trial. J Clin Oncol. 2019 Sep 10;37(26):2338-2348. doi: 10.1200/JCO.19.00647. Epub 2019 Jul 24. PMID: 31339827.
Nyrop KA, Deal AM, Reeder-Hayes KE, Shachar SS, Reeve BB, Basch E, Choi SK, Lee JT, Wood WA, Anders CK, Carey LA, Dees EC, Jolly TA, Kimmick GG, Karuturi MS, Reinbolt RE, Speca JC, Muss HB. Patient-reported and clinician-reported chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy in patients with early breast cancer: Current clinical practice. Cancer. 2019 Sep 1;125(17):2945-2954. doi: 10.1002/cncr.32175. Epub 2019 May 15. PMID: 31090930
Nyrop KA, Lee JT, Deal AM, Ki Choi S, Muss HB. Weight-Related Communications Between Oncology Clinicians and Women With Obesity at Early Breast Cancer Diagnosis: Findings From a Review of Electronic Health Records. Nutr Cancer. 2019 Jul 26:1-8. doi: 10.1080/01635581.2019.1645863. [Epub ahead of print]. PMID: 31347408.
Wagoner CW, Choi SK, Deal AM, Lee JT, Wood WA, Muss HB, Nyrop KA. Establishing physical activity in breast cancer: self-report versus activity tracker. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2019 Jul;176(2):395-400. doi: 10.1007/s10549-019-05263-3. Epub 2019 Apr 30. PMID: 31041684.
Nishijima TF, Shachar SS, Muss HB, Tamura K. Patient-Reported Outcomes with PD-1/PD-L1 Inhibitors for Advanced Cancer: A Meta-Analysis. Oncologist. 2019 Jul;24(7):e565-e573. doi: 10.1634/theoncologist.2018-0449. Epub 2018 Dec 14. PMID: 30552160.
Williams GR, Deal AM, Sanoff HK, Nyrop KA, Guerard EJ, Pergolotti M, Shachar SS, Reeve BB, Bensen JT, Choi SK, Muss HB. Frailty and health-related quality of life in older women with breast cancer. Support Care Cancer. 2019 Jul;27(7):2693-2698. doi: 10.1007/s00520-018-4558-6. Epub 2018 Nov 27. PMID: 30484012.
