# Massimo Cristofanilli

Source: https://onco.cc/people/massimo-cristofanilli/  
OnCo record `massimo-cristofanilli` (Person). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Showed that counting tumour cells in blood predicts survival in breast cancer and co-led PALOMA-3, which brought palbociclib to endocrine-resistant disease.

## Summary

Massimo Cristofanilli (Weill Cornell Medicine, New York) led the 2004 study showing that circulating tumour cell counts predict survival in metastatic breast cancer, the founding clinical result for liquid biopsy. He was co-principal investigator of PALOMA-3, which established palbociclib plus fulvestrant after endocrine progression, and has led inflammatory breast cancer programmes. His work now focuses on ctDNA and CTC-guided treatment.

## Fields

- Kind: Person
- Last checked: 2026-09-10
- Tags: breast; liquid-biopsy
- Role: Professor of Medicine and Director of Breast Medical Oncology, Weill Cornell Medicine
- Specialisms: Metastatic breast cancer; Circulating tumour cells; CDK4/6 inhibitors; Inflammatory breast cancer

## Sources

- PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Cristofanilli%20M%5BAuthor%5D%20breast%20circulating

## Connected records

- cancers: [HR-positive / HER2-negative breast cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/breast-hr-positive/), [Inflammatory breast cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/inflammatory-breast-cancer/)
- technologies: [CDK4/6 inhibitors](https://onco.cc/technologies/cdk46-inhibitor/), [Liquid biopsy (ctDNA)](https://onco.cc/technologies/liquid-biopsy/)
- targets: [CDK4/6](https://onco.cc/targets/cdk4-6/), [Estrogen receptor (ERα)](https://onco.cc/targets/estrogen-receptor/)
- drugs: [Palbociclib](https://onco.cc/drugs/palbociclib/)
- institutions: [Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine](https://onco.cc/institutions/weill-cornell-meyer-cancer-center/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/massimo-cristofanilli.json