Dr. Humaid Obaid bin Harmal Al Shamsi Consultant – Oncology Director Oncology Services, VPS

Awards & Achievements

• Member of Canadian Board in Medical Oncology
• Medical Oncology Specialist Certification - The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada – FRCP(C) Medical Oncology.
• Member of American Board in Medical Oncology (ABIM).
• Membership of Royal College of Physicians of United Kingdom – Specialist Certification Examination in Medical Oncology – MRCP (UK) Medical Oncology.
• Canadian Board in Internal Medicine, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada Specialty exam – FRCP(C) Internal Medicine.
• American Board in Internal Medicine – ABIM Board Certified
• 1st Graduate of Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed program for outstanding UAE physicians training program in 2016.
• The publication of the year 2020 by the Oncologist Journal for the publication of “A Practical Approach to the Management of Cancer Patients During the Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID‐19) Pandemic: An International Collaborative Group.
• The outstanding researcher of the year 2020 by the Emirate’s Medical Association 2020 for over ten research papers in 2020, mostly in high-impact journals.
• Certificate of appreciation from the UAE Embassy in Washington D.C, the USA For excellence in clinical and research program during the Fellowship training at McMaster University in 2012.
• Outstanding Senior Resident of the Year Award 2012 by MSA (Medical Staff Association).
• The Medical Oncology department nominated him for three awards across Hamilton Health Sciences for all postgraduate subspecialty (among a total of 150 trainees).
• Recipient of Jeff Ginsberg Subspecialty Resident Award 2012.
• He was nominated by Dr.Som Mukhrjee, Program Director of Medical Oncology training program at McMaster University, one award across all Internal Medicine subspecialty.
• Runner-up, Chief Resident of the Year - Internal Medicine Training Program in 2009-2010.
• Hamilton General Hospital's Clinical Teaching Unit (CTU) Director nominated award for outstanding achievement in medical instruction for medical students and junior house staff and administrative performance during the three-month chief resident period from January to March 2010.
• Internal Medicine Chief’s Cup 2009-2010.
• Member of the Hamilton General Hospital Internal Medicine chief’s team.
• Certificate of appreciation from the UAE Embassy in London, UK.
• Honors in the Bachelor of Medicine and surgery in 2004 at University College Cork.
• Stuart Jay Cohen Memorial Award - 1st Place Award
• Student Research Day 2012, Department of Oncology, McMaster University
• Venous thromboembolism events in patients with Colorectal Cancer treated with FOLFIRI plus bevacizumab - JCC Regional cancer center Experience, Supervisor Dr. P. Major.
• Stuart Jay Cohen Memorial Award – 2nd Place Award
• Student Research Day 2012, Department of Oncology, McMaster University
• Clinical Research – Oral Presentations

Research & Publications

• Humaid Al-Shamsi, Siefker-Radtke A, Czerniak B, Dinney C, Millikan RE. Uncommon Cancers of the Bladder. Raghavan D, Brecher ML, Johnson DH, Meropol NJ, Moots PL, Rose PG, Mayer IA. John Wiley and Son, 2016. Textbook of Uncommon Cancer, 5th ed. Ed(s).
• Handbook of Healthcare in the Arab World. Springer, Cham. Palliative Care in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Nijhawan N.A., Al-Shamsi H.O. (2021)
• Oncology Care in the UAE. In: Laher I. (eds). Laher I. (eds).Abu-Gheida I., Nijwahan N., Al-Shamsi H.O. (2020). Handbook of Healthcare in the Arab World. Springer, Cham.
• Successful Vaccination of Patients with History of Severe Anaphylactic Reaction with Pfizer-Biotech COVID-19 Vaccine. Humaid, O. Al-Shamsi, Eric A Coomes (2021) Journal of Oncology Research Review & Reports. SRC/JONRR-125.
• Clinicopathological Features of Gastric Cancer in a Cohort of Gulf Council Countries’ Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study of 96 Cases. Al-Shamsi, H. O., Alzaabi, A. A., Afrit, M., Abu-Gheida, I., & Musallam, K. M. (2021). Journal of Oncology Research Review & Reports. SRC/JONRR-133, 3.
• The Emirates Oncology Task Force Clinical Practice Guideline on Screening for SARS-CoV-2 in Asymptomatic Adult Cancer Patients Before Anti-Cancer Therapy. Al-Shamsi, H., Azribi, F., Abu-Gheida, I., Jaafar, H., & Razek, A. A. (2021). Journal of Oncology Research Review & Reports. SRC/JONRR-137, 3.
• The Burden of Gynecologic Cancers in the UAE. Humaid O Al-Shamsi, Faryal Iqbal, Mohd Subhi Al-Saad, Priyanka Ashish Dhemre, Fady Georges Hachem, et al. (2021) Journal of Oncology Research Review & Reports. SRC/JONRR-147.
• Fluoropyrimidine-Induced Severe Toxicities Associated with Rare DPYD Polymorphisms: Case Series from Saudi Arabia and a Review of the Literature. Bukhari N, Alshangiti A, Tashkandi E, Algarni M, Al-Shamsi HO, Al-Khallaf H. Clinics and Practice. 2021; 11(3):467-471.
• The decline in radioiodine use but not total thyroidectomy in thyroid cancer patients treated in the United Arab Emirates-A retrospective study. Azhar, Malik, Faisal Aziz, Salama Almuhairi, Mohammad Alfelasi, Ali Elhouni, Rizwan Syed, Humaid O. Al-Shamsi, and Khaled M. Aldahmani. Annals of Medicine and Surgery 64 (2021): 102203.
• Higher and Increasing Incidence of Cancer between the Age of 20-49 Years in the UAE Population; A focus Analysis of the UAE National Cancer Registry Data 2015-2017. Humaid, O. Al-Shamsi, Eric A Coomes (2021) Journal of Oncology Research Review & Reports. SRC/JONRR-127, 3.
• A Strong Beliefs and Soft Evidence Underlying Mammography Surveillance Recommendations in Breast Cancer Survivors: A Study in Reflexive Science and Decision-Making. Humaid, O. Al-Shamsi, Sadir Alrawi, Ahmed S. Abdulsamad, Nuhad K. Ibrahim (2021) Journal of Oncology Research Review & Reports. SRC/JONRR-131, 3.
• One-stop-shop for cancer screening: A model for the future." (2021): 10554-10554. Bernstein, Ezra, Shiran Shapira, Shahar Lev-Ari, Ari Leshno, Udi A. Sommer, Lior Galazan, Humaid O. Al-Shamsi, et al.
• Impact of COVID 19 pandemic on the psychological wellbeing of oncology clinicians in MENA (the Middle East and North Africa) region. Latif, M.F., Azam, F., Tirmazy, S.H., Bashir, S., Ibnshamsah, F., Al Selwi, W.M., Bukhari, N., Alwbari, A., Alshangiti, A., Gabsi, A., and Al-Shamsi, H.O., 2021.
• The State of Cancer Care in the United Arab Emirates in 2020: Challenges and Recommendations, A report by the United Arab Emirates Oncology Task Force. Al-Shamsi, H., Darr, H., Abu-Gheida, I., Ansari, J., McManus, M. C., Jaafar, H., ... & Al-Khatib, F. (2020). The Gulf Journal of Oncology, 1(32), 71-87.
• Screening for COVID-19 in asymptomatic patients with cancer in a hospital in the United Arab Emirates. Al-Shamsi, H. O., Coomes, E. A., & Alrawi, S. (2020). JAMA oncology, 6(10), 1627-1628. Screening for COVID-19 in Asymptomatic Patients Receiving Anticancer Therapy in the United Arab Emirates. Al-Shamsi, H. O., Coomes, E. A., Aldhaheri, K., & Alrawi, S. (2020). Serial JAMA oncology. doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2020.5745.
• Rethinking Cancer Screening and Diagnosis During the Covid-19 Pandemic. Humaid O. Al-Shamsi (2020) Journal of Oncology Research Review & Reports. SRC/JORRR/110.
• Early Onset Colorectal Cancer in the United Arab Emirates, Where do we Stand? Humaid O. Al-Shamsi., et al. Acta Scientific Cancer Biology 4.11 (2020): 24-27.
• Impact of Integrating Insulin-Like Growth Factor 1 Levels into Model for End-Stage Liver Disease Score for Survival Prediction in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients. Abdel-Wahab, R., Hassan, M.M., George, B., Pestana, R.C., Xiao, L., Lacin, S., Yalcin, S., Shalaby, A.S., Al-Shamsi, H.O., Raghav, K. and Wolff, R.A., 2020 Oncology, 98(12), pp.836-846.
• Challenges for cancer patients returning home during SARS-COV-19 pandemic after medical tourism-a consensus report by the emirates oncology task force. Al-Shamsi, H. O., Abu-Gheida, I., Rana, S. K., Nijhawan, N., Abdulsamad, A. S., Alrawi, S., ... & McManus, M. C. (2020). BMC Cancer, 20(1), 1-10.
• A Practical Approach to the Management of Cancer Patients During the Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic: An International Collaborative Group. Al-Shamsi HO, Alhazzani W, Alhuraiji A, Coomes EA, Chemaly RF, Almuhanna M, Wolff RA, Ibrahim NK, Chua MLK, Hotte SJ, Meyers BM, Elfiki T, Curigliano G, Eng C, Grothey A, Xie C. Oncologist. 2020 Jun;25(6):e936-e945.
• Outcomes and Impact of a Universal COVID-19 Screening Protocol for Asymptomatic Oncology Patients. Al Shamsi, H., R. Iskanderian, R., Karmstaji, A., Kamal Mohamed, B., Alahmed, S., H. Masri, M.R. Grobmyer, S. (2020). The Gulf Journal of Oncology, (34), 162-167.
• Evolution of Cancer Care in Response to the COVID‐19 Pandemic. Coomes, E. A., Al‐Shamsi, H. O., Meyers, B. M., Alhazzani, W., Alhuraiji, A., Chemaly, R. F., & Xie, C. (2020). The oncologist, 25(9), e1426-e1427.
• Authors Reply Oncological surgery during COVID-19 pandemic: The need for deep and lasting measures. Al-Shamsi HO et al.,
• Cholangiocarcinoma with FGFR genetic aberrations: a unique clinical phenotype. Jain, A., Borad, M.J., Kelley, R.K., Wang, Y., Abdel-Wahab, R., Meric-Bernstam, F., Baggerly, K.A., Kaseb, A.O., Al-Shamsi, H.O., Ahn, D.H. and DeLeon, T., 2018. JCO Precision Oncology, 2, pp.1-12.
• Patient selection and risk factors in the changing treatment landscape of metastatic renal cell carcinoma, Ehab Abdou, Ravi M Pedapenki, Mohamed Abouagour, Abdul R Zar, Emad Anwar, Dalia Elshourbagy, Humaid Al-Shamsi & Enrique Grande (2020). Expert Review of Anticancer Therapy, Sep 15th, 2020.
• Authors Reply: How to manage febrile neutropenia during the COVID pandemic? In response to “A Practical Approach to the Management of Cancer Patients During the Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic,”. Al-Shamsi HO et al. The Oncologist
• Virtual management of cancer patients in the era of COVID-19 pandemic. Tashkandi, E., Zeeneldin, A., AlAbdulwahab, A., Elemam, O., Elsamany, S., Jastaniah, W., & Al-Shamsi, H. (2020). J Med Internet Res [Internet].
• Mammography screening for breast cancer—the UK Age trial. Al-Shamsi, H. O. (2020). The Lancet Oncology, 21(11), e505.
• COVID-19 Vaccination for Cancer Patients, What Oncologists and Cancer Patients Need to Know? Humaid O. Al-shamsi (2020). Journal of Oncology. Research Review & Reports. SRC/JONRR-114.
• Anterior Mediastinal Mass: A Rare Presentation of Thyroid Mass Compressing Mediastinal Structures. Humaid O. Al-shamsi (2020). Journal of Oncology. Research Review & Reports. SRC/JORRR-113.
• Tele-Oncology: An Emerging Technology in Developing Countries during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Atlal M. Abusanad and Humaid O. Al-Shamsi. New Emirates Medical Journal (2020) 1: 1.
• 1737P National approaches to managing cancer care: Responses of countries in the MENA region to COVID-19 pandemic. Benbrahim, Z., Al Asiri, M., Al Bahrani, B., AlNassar, M. A., Al-Shamsi, H. O., Bounedjar, A., & Labidi, S. (2020). Annals of Oncology, 31, S1016.
• Malignant Peritoneal Mesothelioma Following Wilms’ Tumor in a Horse-Shoe Kidney, A Case Report and Review of Literature. Abdulsamad, A. S., Inam, A., Oner, M., Darr, H., Madi, T., Alrawi, S. J., & Al-shamsi, H. O. (2019). Cancer Therapy & Oncology International Journal, 13(2), 66-71. Palliative Care in the United Arab Emirates, a Desperate Need. Al-Shamsi HO , Tareen M (2018). Palliat Med Care 5(3): 1-4.
• Chasing the cure around the globe: medical tourism for Cancer care from developing countries. Al-Shamsi, H. O., Al-Hajeili, M., & Alrawi, S. (2018). Journal of Global Oncology.
• Expatriates with a cancer diagnosis in the United Arab Emirates, hanging on the edge. Al-Shamsi, H. O. (2018). J Cancer Prev Curr Res, 9(5), 257-258.
• Breast cancer screening in the United Arab Emirates: is it time to call for a screening at an earlier age. Al-Shamsi, H. O., & Alrawi, S. (2018). J Cancer Prev Curr Res, 9(3), 123-126.
• Awareness, understanding, attitude, and barriers toward prescribing modern cancer immunotherapies in the Arabian Gulf countries. Al-Shamsi, H. O., Tashkandi, E., Bukhari, N., Al Farsi, A., Alnajjar, A., Alhuraiji, A., ... & Alrawi, S. (2018). Gulf J Oncol, 1, 45-51.
• Update on the treatment of metastatic urothelial carcinoma. Bukhari, N., Al-Shamsi, H. O., & Azam, F. (2018). The Scientific World Journal, 2018.
• Long-Standing Course of Disease in a Patient with Muir-Torre Syndrome. Khan, M., & Al-Shamsi, H. O. (2018).
• Non-V600BRAF mutations define a clinically distinct molecular subtype of metastatic colorectal cancer. Jones, J. C., Renfro, L. A., Al-Shamsi, H. O., Schrock, A. B., Rankin, A., Zhang, B. Y., & Grothey, A. (2017). Journal of Clinical Oncology, 35(23), 2624.
• Utility of the Edmonton Frail Scale in identifying frail elderly patients during treatment of colorectal cancer. Meyers BM, Humaid O. Al-Shamsi, Rask S, Yelamanchili R, Phillips CM, Papaioannou A, Pond GR, Jeyabalan N, Zbuk KM, Dhesy-Thind SK. J Gastrointest Oncol 2017;8(1):32-38. Corrigendum to “The Current Practice of Screening, Prevention, and Treatment of Androgen-Deprivation-Therapy Induced Osteoporosis in Patients with Prostate Cancer.” Al-Shamsi, H. O., Lau, A. N., Malik, K., Alamri, A., Ioannidis, G., Corbett, T., Papaioannou, A. (2017). Journal of oncology, 2017.
• Natural history of T1N0M0 hepatocellular carcinoma: Large-scale study in the United States. Al-Shamsi, H. O., Abdel-Wahab, R., Hassan, M. M., Shalaby, A. S., Dahbour, I., Lacin, S. & Kaseb, A. O. (2017). Oncology, 93(4), 233-242.
• Association of elevated alpha-1 antitrypsin with advanced clinicopathologic features of hepatocellular carcinoma. Abdel-Wahab, R., Hassan, M., Wolff, R. A., Lacin, S., Al-Shamsi, H. O., Raghav, K. P. S., ... & Kaseb, A. O. (2017).
• BRCA-associated protein one mutant cholangiocarcinoma: an aggressive disease subtype. Al-Shamsi, H. O., Anand, D., Shroff, R. T., Jain, A., Zuo, M., Conrad, C., ... & Javle, M. M. (2016). Journal of Gastrointestinal Oncology, 7(4), 556.
• Continuation of trastuzumab beyond disease progression in HER2-positive metastatic gastric cancer: the MD Anderson experience. Al-Shamsi HO, Fahmawi Y, Dahbour I, Tabash A, Rogers JE, Mares JE, Blum MA, Estrella J, Matamoros A Jr, Sagebiel T, Devine CE, Bagwell BD, Lin QD, Das P, Ajani JA. J Gastrointest Oncol. 2016 Aug;7(4):499- 505.
• Molecular spectrum of KRAS, NRAS, BRAF, PIK3CA, TP53, and APC somatic gene mutations in Arab patients with colorectal cancer: Determination of frequency and distribution pattern. Humaid O. Al-Shamsi, Robert A. Wolff. J Gastrointest Oncol 2016;7(6):882-902.
• The addition of bevacizumab to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in HER2-negative inflammatory breast cancer more not necessarily better. Al-Shamsi, H. O., & Ibrahim, N. K. (2016). Translational Cancer Research, 5, S694-S696.
• The clinical utility of normal range carbohydrate antigen 19-9 level as a surrogate marker in evaluating response to treatment in pancreatic cancer—a report of two cases. Al-Shamsi, H. O., Alzahrani, M., & Wolff, R. A. (2016). Journal of gastrointestinal oncology, 7(3), E45.
• Prognostic effect of angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) and diuretics in patients with pancreatic cancer. Al-Shamsi, H. O., Shalaby, A., Dar, A. Y., Hassan, M., Wolff, R. A., & Li, D. (2016).
• P-114 A phase II trial of bevacizumab and erlotinib as second-line therapy for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. Kaseb, A., Al-Shamsi, H., Morris, J., Iwasaki, M., Xiao, L., Abdelwahab, R., ... & Wolff, R. (2015). Annals of Oncology, 26(suppl_4).
• A case report is a case report for chronic abdominal pain secondary to mesenteric panniculitis treated successfully with endoscopic ultrasonography-guided celiac plexus block. Alhazzani, W., Al-Shamsi, H. O., Greenwald, E., Radhi, J., & Tse, F. (2015). World journal of gastrointestinal endoscopy, 7(5), 563.
• Extended RAS testing in metastatic colorectal cancer—Refining the predictive molecular biomarkers. Al-Shamsi, H. O., Alhazzani, W., & Wolff, R. A. (2015). Journal of gastrointestinal oncology, 6(3), 314.
• Capecitabine-induced leukocytoclastic vasculitis under neoadjuvant chemotherapy for locally advanced colorectal cancer. Al-Shamsi, H. O., Kee, B. K., Tetzlaff, M. T., & Wolff, R. A. (2015). Journal of gastrointestinal oncology, 6(3), E40.
• HER2/neu-directed therapy for biliary tract cancer. Milind Javle, Chaitanya Churi, HyunSeon C. Kang, Rachna Shroff, Filip Janku, Rakesh Surapaneni, Mingxin Zuo, Christian Barrera, AlShamsi H, Sunil Krishnan, Lopa Mishra, Robert A. Wolff, Ahmed O. Kaseb, Melanie B. Thomas, and Abby B. Siegel. Journal of Hematology & Oncology 2015, 8:58.
• Thrombotic events in metastatic colorectal cancer patients treated with leucovorin, fluorouracil, and irinotecan (FOLFIRI) plus bevacizumab. Al-Shamsi HO, Al Farsi A, Anjum M, Shen H, Zbuk K, Cook RJ, Linkins LA, Major P. J Gastrointest Oncol 2015;6(3):274-279. doi: 10.3978/j.issn.2078-6891.2015.025.
• A phase II trial of bevacizumab and erlotinib as second-line therapy for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. Kaseb, A. O., Al-Shamsi, H. O., Morris, J., Iwasaki, M., Xiao, L., Abdel-Wahab, R., ... & Wolff, R. A. (2015).
• Natural History of T1N0M0 Hepatocellular carcinoma: Large scale study in the United States. Al-Shamsi, H. O., Abdel-Wahab, R., Hassan, M., Botrus, G., Shalaby, A. S., Wolff, R. A., & Kaseb, A. O. (2015). HER2/neu-directed therapy for biliary tract cancer. Javle, M., Churi, C., Kang, H.C., Shroff, R., Janku, F., Surapaneni, R., Zuo, M., Barrera, C., Alshamsi, H., Krishnan, S. and Mishra, L., 2015. Journal of hematology & oncology, 8(1), pp.1-9.
• HER2/neu-directed therapy for biliary tract cancer. Al-Shamsi, H. O., Barrera, C. D., Surapaneni, R., Kang, H., Shroff, R. T., Janku, F., & Javle, M. M. (2015).
• Cochrane systematic review and meta-analysis of adjuvant therapy for stage II colon cancer. Meyers, B. M., Al-Shamsi, H. O., & Figueredo, A. T. (2015).
• A multicentre analysis of abiraterone acetate in Canadian patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Clayton R, Wu J, Heng DY, North SA, Emmenegger U, Hotte S, Chi K, Zielinski R, Al-Shamsi H, Chen L, Eigl B. Can Urol Assoc J. 2014 Sep;8(9-10):E583-90. doi: 10.5489/cuaj.1891.
• Stage III non-small-cell lung cancer: Establishing a benchmark for the proportion of patients suitable for radical treatment. Al-Shamsi HO, Al Farsi A, Ellis PM. Clin Lung Cancer. 2014 Jul;15(4):274-80.
• A multicenter population-based experience with abiraterone acetate (AA) in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC)." (2013): 113-113. Clayton, Ravinder, Daniel Yick Chin Heng, Jackson SY Wu, Rob Zielinski, Scott A. North, Urban Emmenegger, Sebastien J. Hotte, Humaid Obaid Al-Shamsi, Leo Chen, and Bernhard J. Eigl.
• Thrombotic events in metastatic colorectal cancer patients treated with FOLFIRI plus bevacizumab. Al-Shamsi, H. O., Anjum, M., Al Farsi, A. M., Shen, H., Cook, R. J., Linkins, L. A., & Major, P. (2013).
• Rapid assessment of frailty before treatment of elderly colorectal cancer patients. Dhesy-Thind, S. K., Meyers, B. M., Al-Shamsi, H. O., Papaioannou, A., Zbuk, K. M., & Pond, G. R. (2013).
• The current practice of screening, prevention, and treatment of androgen-deprivation-therapy induced osteoporosis in patients with prostate cancer. Al-Shamsi, H. O., Lau, A. N., Malik, K., Alamri, A., Ioannidis, G., Corbett, T., ... & Papaioannou, A. (2012). Journal of oncology, 2012. III NSCLC: How many patients are suitable for radical treatment approaches?. Al-Shamsi, H. O., & Ellis, P. M. (2012). Utilization of Radiation Therapy in Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Following the Introduction of Abiraterone into Clinical Oncology Practice. Clayton, R., Wu, J., Heng, D. Y., North, S. A., Emmenegger, U., Al-Shamsi, H. O., ... & Eigl, B. J. (2012). International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics, 84(3), S361-S362. Utility of the Edmonton Frail Scale (EFS) in identifying frail elderly patients during colorectal cancer (CRC) treatment. Al-Shamsi, H. O., Lau, A. N., Malik, K., Alamri, A., Ioannidis, G., Corbett, T., ... & Papaioannou, A. (2012). Journal of oncology, 2012. Molecular Spectra and Frequency Patterns of Somatic Mutations in Arab Women with Breast Cancer. Meyers, B. M., Yelamanchili, R., Rask, S., Al-Shamsi, H. O., Phillips, C. M., Papaioannou, A., ... & Dhesy-Thind, S. K. (2012). Humaid O. Al-Shamsi, Abu-Gheida I, Abdulsamad AS, AlAwadhi A, Alrawi S, Musallam KM, Arun B, Ibrahim NK. Oncologist. 2021.