Research Overview

Dr. O'Neill is a Pediatric Oncology physician-scientist with a passion for translational research and expertise in the care of pediatric solid tumor patients. She serves as the Clinical Director of the Solid Tumor Program and Medical Director of the Liver Tumor Center of Excellence at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Boston Children’s Hospital. In her role as Director of the Solid Tumor Program, her overarching responsibilities include guiding clinical research initiatives in concert with our experimental therapeutics division and revising our current clinical care infrastructure. She is self-tasked with cultivating a programmatic mission surrounding multidisciplinary clinics, visibility in the rare tumor space, and expanding initiatives in immunotherapy. The Liver Tumor Center of Excellence collaboratively unites individuals of a broad multidisciplinary expertise to deliver care to children with these exceptionally rare tumors.

Education

Medical School

Albert Einstein College of Medicine
2005 Bronx NY US

Internship

Boston Children's Hospital/Boston Medical Center
2006 Boston MA US

Residency

Pediatrics Boston Children's Hospital/Boston Medical Center
Boston MA US

Fellowship

Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
2011 Boston MA US

Media

Caregiver Profile

Meet Dr. Allison O'Neill

Publications

  1. Abscopal response in a patient with fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma following radiotherapy. Lancet. 2025 Dec 21; 404(10471):2603-2604. View Abstract
  2. Characteristics of patients with liver tumors deemed ineligible for enrollment on Children's Oncology Group trial AHEP1531: An opportunity to expand inclusion criteria and improve outcome. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2025 Jan; 72(1):e31389. View Abstract
  3. Outpatient Management of Fever and Neutropenia in Low-risk Children with Solid Tumors: A Quality Improvement Initiative. Pediatr Qual Saf. 2024 Sep-Oct; 9(5):e771. View Abstract
  4. Upfront or delayed surgery in resectable hepatoblastoma: analysis from the children's hepatic tumors international collaboration database. EClinicalMedicine. 2024 Oct; 76:102811. View Abstract
  5. Pediatric Adrenocortical Carcinoma: The Nuts and Bolts of Diagnosis and Treatment and Avenues for Future Discovery. Cancer Manag Res. 2024; 16:1141-1153. View Abstract
  6. Clinical and immunophenotype correlating with response to immunotherapy in paediatric patients with primary liver carcinoma. A case series. EBioMedicine. 2024 Jun; 104:105147. View Abstract
  7. Use of Sodium Thiosulfate as an Otoprotectant in Patients With Cancer Treated With Platinum Compounds: A Review of the Literature. J Clin Oncol. 2024 Jun 20; 42(18):2219-2232. View Abstract
  8. Off-label prescribing of immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy at a single pediatric cancer center. Cancer Med. 2024 Apr; 13(8):e7154. View Abstract
  9. Anti-CD99 Antibody Therapy Triggers Macrophage-Dependent Ewing Cell Death In Vitro and Myeloid Cell Recruitment In Vivo. Antibodies (Basel). 2024 Mar 18; 13(1). View Abstract
  10. The RELIVE consortium for relapsed or refractory pediatric hepatoblastoma and hepatocellular carcinoma: a scoping review of the problem and a proposed solution. EClinicalMedicine. 2024 Mar; 69:102446. View Abstract
  11. The Landscape of US and Global Rare Tumor Research Programs: A Systematic Review. Oncologist. 2024 Feb 02; 29(2):106-116. View Abstract
  12. Second Malignant Neoplasms Following Treatment for Hepatoblastoma: An International Report and Review of the Literature. J Pediatr Hematol Oncol. 2024 03 01; 46(2):80-87. View Abstract
  13. Cancer Therapy-related Hepatic Injury in Children: Imaging Review from the Pediatric LI-RADS Working Group. Radiographics. 2023 09; 43(9):e230007. View Abstract
  14. Evaluation of prevalence and outcomes of serial tyrosine kinase inhibitor use in pediatric patients with advanced solid tumors. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2023 11; 70(11):e30652. View Abstract
  15. Children's Oncology Group's 2023 blueprint for research: Liver tumors. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2023 09; 70 Suppl 6:e30576. View Abstract
  16. Rare Tumors: Opportunities and challenges from the Children's Oncology Group perspective. EJC Paediatr Oncol. 2023 Dec; 2. View Abstract
  17. Consensus classification of pediatric hepatocellular tumors: A report from the Children's Hepatic tumors International Collaboration (CHIC). Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2023 Jun 29; e30505. View Abstract
  18. A single-institution pediatric and young adult interventional oncology collaborative: Novel therapeutic options for relapsed/refractory solid tumors. Cancer Med. 2023 06; 12(12):13300-13308. View Abstract
  19. Vincristine/irinotecan/temsirolimus upfront window treatment of high-risk hepatoblastoma: A report from the Children's Oncology Group AHEP0731 Study Committee. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2023 07; 70(7):e30365. View Abstract
  20. Defining incidence and complications of fibrolamellar liver cancer through tiered computational analysis of clinical data. NPJ Precis Oncol. 2023 Mar 23; 7(1):29. View Abstract
  21. Sodium thiosulfate as cisplatin otoprotectant in children: The challenge of when to use it. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2023 05; 70(5):e30248. View Abstract
  22. Outcomes of Patients Treated for Hepatoblastoma with Low Alpha-Fetoprotein and/or Small Cell Undifferentiated Histology: A Report from the Children's Hepatic Tumors International Collaboration (CHIC). Cancers (Basel). 2023 Jan 11; 15(2). View Abstract
  23. Outcomes of children with well-differentiated fetal hepatoblastoma treated with surgery only: Report from Children's Oncology Group Trial, AHEP0731. J Pediatr Surg. 2022 Oct; 57(10):251-256. View Abstract
  24. Hepatoblastomas with carcinoma features represent a biological spectrum of aggressive neoplasms in children and young adults. J Hepatol. 2022 10; 77(4):1026-1037. View Abstract
  25. A framework for fibrolamellar carcinoma research and clinical trials. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2022 05; 19(5):328-342. View Abstract
  26. Small Cell Undifferentiated Histology Does Not Adversely Affect Outcome in Hepatoblastoma: A Report From the Children's Oncology Group (COG) AHEP0731 Study Committee. J Clin Oncol. 2022 02 10; 40(5):459-467. View Abstract
  27. Doxorubicin in combination with cisplatin, 5-flourouracil, and vincristine is feasible and effective in unresectable hepatoblastoma: A Children's Oncology Group study. Cancer. 2022 03 01; 128(5):1057-1065. View Abstract
  28. Fibrolamellar carcinoma: An entity all its own. Curr Probl Cancer. 2021 08; 45(4):100770. View Abstract
  29. Undifferentiated Embryonal Sarcoma of the Liver With Rhabdoid Morphology Mimicking Carcinoma: Expanding the Morphologic Spectrum or a Distinct Variant? Pediatr Dev Pathol. 2021 Nov-Dec; 24(6):564-569. View Abstract
  30. Retrospective evaluation of single patient investigational new drug (IND) requests in pediatric oncology. Cancer Med. 2021 Apr; 10(7):2310-2318. View Abstract
  31. A serous borderline ovarian tumour in a transgender male adolescent. Br J Cancer. 2021 02; 124(3):567-569. View Abstract
  32. Timely pediatric cancer diagnoses: An unexpected casualty of the COVID-19 surge. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2020 12; 67(12):e28729. View Abstract
  33. The use of interval-compressed chemotherapy with the addition of vincristine, irinotecan, and temozolomide for pediatric patients with newly diagnosed desmoplastic small round cell tumor. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2020 10; 67(10):e28559. View Abstract
  34. Making the most of small samples: Optimization of tissue allocation of pediatric solid tumors for clinical and research use. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2020 09; 67(9):e28326. View Abstract
  35. A Multicenter Randomized Three-Arm Phase II Study of (1) Everolimus, (2) Estrogen Deprivation Therapy (EDT) with Leuprolide + Letrozole, and (3) Everolimus + EDT in Patients with Unresectable Fibrolamellar Carcinoma. Oncologist. 2020 11; 25(11):925-e1603. View Abstract
  36. The importance of age as prognostic factor for the outcome of patients with hepatoblastoma: Analysis from the Children's Hepatic tumors International Collaboration (CHIC) database. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2020 08; 67(8):e28350. View Abstract
  37. Phase II Multicenter, Open-Label Study of Oral ENMD-2076 for the Treatment of Patients with Advanced Fibrolamellar Carcinoma. Oncologist. 2020 12; 25(12):e1837-e1845. View Abstract
  38. Correction: BPTF regulates growth of adult and pediatric high-grade glioma through the MYC pathway. Oncogene. 2020 Mar; 39(12):2641. View Abstract
  39. BPTF regulates growth of adult and pediatric high-grade glioma through the MYC pathway. Oncogene. 2020 03; 39(11):2305-2327. View Abstract
  40. a-Fetoprotein as a predictor of outcome for children with germ cell tumors: A report from the Malignant Germ Cell International Consortium. Cancer. 2019 10 15; 125(20):3649-3656. View Abstract
  41. High-throughput Chemical Screening Identifies Focal Adhesion Kinase and Aurora Kinase B Inhibition as a Synergistic Treatment Combination in Ewing Sarcoma. Clin Cancer Res. 2019 07 15; 25(14):4552-4566. View Abstract
  42. Minimal adjuvant chemotherapy for children with hepatoblastoma resected at diagnosis (AHEP0731): a Children's Oncology Group, multicentre, phase 3 trial. Lancet Oncol. 2019 05; 20(5):719-727. View Abstract
  43. Long-term outcomes of liver transplantation for hepatoblastoma: A single-center 14-year experience. Pediatr Transplant. 2018 Jun 11; e13250. View Abstract
  44. Baseline Surveillance in Li-Fraumeni Syndrome Using Whole-Body Magnetic Resonance Imaging: A Meta-analysis. JAMA Oncol. 2017 12 01; 3(12):1634-1639. View Abstract
  45. Screening with whole-body magnetic resonance imaging in pediatric subjects with Li-Fraumeni syndrome: A single institution pilot study. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2018 Feb; 65(2). View Abstract
  46. Characterization of Pulmonary Metastases in Children With Hepatoblastoma Treated on Children's Oncology Group Protocol AHEP0731 (The Treatment of Children With All Stages of Hepatoblastoma): A Report From the Children's Oncology Group. J Clin Oncol. 2017 Oct 20; 35(30):3465-3473. View Abstract
  47. Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Fanconi-Bickel Syndrome. Pediatr Dev Pathol. 2018 Jan-Feb; 21(1):84-90. View Abstract
  48. Unresectable hepatoblastoma: current perspectives. Hepat Med. 2017; 9:1-6. View Abstract
  49. Cause and effect: the etiology of pediatric hepatocellular carcinoma and the role for liver transplantation. Pediatr Transplant. 2016 11; 20(7):878-879. View Abstract
  50. Demonstration of DCE-MRI as an early pharmacodynamic biomarker of response to VEGF Trap in glioblastoma. J Neurooncol. 2016 12; 130(3):495-503. View Abstract
  51. Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder of the pediatric airway: Presentation and management. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2016 Jul; 86:218-23. View Abstract
  52. Targeted imaging of Ewing sarcoma in preclinical models using a 64Cu-labeled anti-CD99 antibody. Clin Cancer Res. 2014 Feb 01; 20(3):678-87. View Abstract
  53. Loss-of-function and gain-of-function phenotypes of stomatocytosis mutant RhAG F65S. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol. 2011 Dec; 301(6):C1325-43. View Abstract
  54. Ludwig's angina following frenuloplasty in an adolescent. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2009 Sep; 73(9):1313-5. View Abstract
  55. Ludwig's angina in the pediatric population. Clin Pediatr (Phila). 2009 Jul; 48(6):583-7. View Abstract
  56. Immaturity of IL-18 gene expression and protein production in cord blood (CB) versus peripheral blood (PB) mononuclear cells and differential effects in natural killer (NK) cell development and function. Br J Haematol. 2005 Jul; 130(2):284-92. View Abstract
  57. The role of extracellular spacer regions in the optimal design of chimeric immune receptors: evaluation of four different scFvs and antigens. J Immunother. 2005 May-Jun; 28(3):203-11. View Abstract
  58. Are there universal parenting concepts among culturally diverse families in an inner-city pediatric clinic? J Pediatr Health Care. 2005 May-Jun; 19(3):142-50. View Abstract
  59. Regulation of Ca(2+) signaling in rat bile duct epithelia by inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor isoforms. Hepatology. 2002 Aug; 36(2):284-96. View Abstract
  60. Regulation of the type III InsP(3) receptor by InsP(3) and calcium. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2002 Jun 14; 294(3):719-25. View Abstract
  61. The type II inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor can trigger Ca2+ waves in rat hepatocytes. Gastroenterology. 2002 Apr; 122(4):1088-100. View Abstract
  62. A primitive ATP receptor from the little skate Raja erinacea. J Biol Chem. 2000 Sep 29; 275(39):30701-6. View Abstract
  63. Primitive organization of cytosolic Ca(2+) signals in hepatocytes from the little skate Raja erinacea. J Exp Biol. 1999 Nov; 202(Pt 22):3049-56. View Abstract

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