Elham Khanafshar, MD, MS
Professor
Pathology
School of Medicine

She also specializes in exfoliative cytology, where cells shed from body surfaces are checked for signs of disease.

Khanafshar's research focuses on the pathology of endocrine disorders, particularly thyroid diseases. She has also investigated how to improve fine needle aspiration biopsies to obtain better samples for research.

Khanafshar earned her medical degree from the Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Iran. She then earned a master's degree in molecular and experimental pathology from the University of Southern California. She completed a residency in anatomic and clinical pathology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and a fellowship in surgical pathology at the University of California, San Diego, before returning to USC for a fellowship in cytopathology.

Khanafshar is passionate about educating future pathologists, and she serves as director of UCSF's pathology fellowship program. She is a member of the Endocrine Pathology Society, Papanicolaou Society of Cytopathology, American Society of Cytopathology, College of American Pathologists and United States & Canadian Academy of Pathology.

• Non-Iodine-Avid Disease Is Highly Prevalent in Distant Metastatic Differentiated Thyroid Cancer With Papillary Histology.
  The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism 2022 Soe MH, Chiang JM, Flavell RR, Khanafshar E, Mendoza L, Kang H, Liu C
• B1 Vitamin Deficiency After Bariatric Surgery, Prevalence, and Symptoms: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
  Obesity surgery 2022 Bahardoust M, Eghbali F, Shahmiri SS, Alijanpour A, Yarigholi F, Valizadeh R, Madankan A, Pouraskari AB, Ashtarinezhad B, Farokhi H, Sarafraz H, Khanafshar E
• Hidden retained surgical sponge with intestinal migration: A rare case report.
  International Journal of Surgery Case Reports 2022 Foolad Eghbali, Mansour Bhahdoust, Ahmad Madankan, Hesam Mosavari, Hamed Vaseghi, Elham Khanafshar
• Retroperitoneal duodenal perforation due to COVID-19: An extremely rare case report.
  International journal of surgery case reports 2022 Eghbali F, Bhahdoust M, Khanafshar E, Pazouki A, Shahabi S, Kermansaravi M
• Excellence Available Everywhere: The Virtual Pathology Grand Rounds Experience.
  American journal of clinical pathology 2021 Mirza KM, Gonzalez RS, Jiang XS, Khanafshar E, Wobker SE
• Comparison of Perspectives on a Unified Cytopathology Fellowship Recruitment: Results of the ASC Cytopathology Program Director and Trainee Surveys 2021.
  Journal of the American Society of Cytopathology 2021 Israh Akhtar, Roseann Wu, Kamal Khurana, Elham Khanafshar, Samer Khader, Caroline Abramovich, Diva Salomao, Cecilia Gimenez, Wafaa Elatre, Kim Ely, Sara Monaco
• Fine-needle aspiration performance during cytopathology fellowship: what do the ACGME case logs show us?
  Journal of the American Society of Cytopathology 2021 Salomao D, Wu RI, Hatlak K, Khanafshar E, Monaco SE
• Clinical Behaviors of Atypical Parathyroid Adenomas.
  Journal of the Endocrine Society 2021 Sarah S Pearlstein, Kim Eric, Chomsky-Higgins Kate, Elham Khanafshar, Quan-Yang Duh
• Cervical Lymph Node Features Predictive of Suboptimal Adequacy During Ultrasound-Guided Fine-Needle Aspiration in Thyroid Cancer Patients.
  Journal of ultrasound in medicine : official journal of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine 2021 Chen JV, Morgan TA, Liu C, Khanafshar E, Choi HH
• Disseminated Legionella micdadei infection in a liver transplant patient presenting as pulmonary nodules and a laryngeal lesion.
  Transplant infectious disease : an official journal of the Transplantation Society 2021 Bond AR, Bainbridge E, Doernberg SB, Babik JM, Miller S, Khanafshar E, Henry T, David A, Russell M, Brandman D, Sherman CB, Yao F, Fung M
• Molecular cytopathology diagnosis of a lung neoplasm: Case report of an unusual non-small cell carcinoma with MET exon 14 skipping mutation.
  Diagnostic cytopathology 2021 Hosseini SM, Khanafshar E, Seeley EJ, Ruiz-Cordero R
• Treatment of Metastatic Melanoma With Leptomeningeal Disease Using Intrathecal Immunotherapy.
  JCO oncology practice 2020 Huppert LA, Melisko ME, Glastonbury CM, Khanafshar E, Daud AI
• The diagnostic utility of next-generation sequencing on FNA biopsies of melanocytic uveal lesions.
  Cancer cytopathology 2020 Han LM, Khanafshar E, Afshar AR, Calkins SM
• PTH hypersecretion triggered by a GABAB1 and Ca2+-sensing receptor heterocomplex in hyperparathyroidism.
  Nature metabolism 2020 Chang W, Tu CL, Jean-Alphonse FG, Herberger A, Cheng Z, Hwong J, Ho H, Li A, Wang D, Liu H, White AD, Suh I, Shen W, Duh QY, Khanafshar E, Shoback DM, Xiao K, Vilardaga JP
• Breaking Down Silos: The Importance of Interprofessional Communication Between Cytopathology and Gynecology for Cervical Samples.
  Journal of the American Society of Cytopathology 2019 Lucy Han, Jill Grochowski, Iris Juan, Elham Khanafshar
• Case report of a neuroendocrine tumor of the thyroid gland with limited calcitonin expression: a diagnostic challenge.
  AME case reports 2019 Sukpanich R, Khanafshar E, Suh I, Gosnell J
• Noninvasive follicular thyroid neoplasm with papillary-like nuclear features (NIFTP) in thyroid tumor classification.
  Pathology international 2018 Kakudo K, El-Naggar AK, Hodak SP, Khanafshar E, Nikiforov YE, Nosé V, Thompson LDR
• Squamous differentiation in papillary thyroid carcinoma: a rare feature of aggressive disease.
  The Journal of surgical research 2017 Beninato T, Kluijfhout WP, Drake FT, Khanafshar E, Gosnell JE, Shen WT, Duh QY, Suh I
• Cytology cases of the week: an educational tool that improves trainee exposure to cytology.
  Journal of the American Society of Cytopathology 2017 Can NT, White KL, Calkins S, Ljung BM, Khanafshar E
• Noninvasive follicular thyroid neoplasm with papillary-like nuclear features: a review for pathologists.
  Modern pathology : an official journal of the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology, Inc 2017 Seethala RR, Baloch ZW, Barletta JA, Khanafshar E, Mete O, Sadow PM, LiVolsi VA, Nikiforov YE, Tallini G, Thompson LD
• Association Between BRAF V600E Mutation and Decreased Survival in Patients Locoregionally Irradiated for Anaplastic Thyroid Carcinoma.
  International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics 2016 S. Choi, E. Shugard, E. Khanafshar, J.M. Quivey, A.A. Garsa, S.S. Yom
• Squamous Differentiation in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma: a Rare Feature of Aggressive Disease.
  Journal of the American College of Surgeons 2016 Toni M. Beninato, Wouter P. Kluijfhout, Frederick T. Drake, Elham Khanafshar, Jessica E. Gosnell, Wen T. Shen, Quan-Yang Duh, Insoo Suh
• Nomenclature Revision for Encapsulated Follicular Variant of Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma: A Paradigm Shift to Reduce Overtreatment of Indolent Tumors.
  JAMA oncology 2016 Nikiforov YE, Seethala RR, Tallini G, Baloch ZW, Basolo F, Thompson LD, Barletta JA, Wenig BM, Al Ghuzlan A, Kakudo K, Giordano TJ, Alves VA, Khanafshar E, Asa SL, El-Naggar AK, Gooding WE, Hodak SP, …
• Intrapancreatic accessory spleen: utilization of fine needle aspiration for diagnosis of a potential mimic of a pancreatic neoplasm.
  Journal of gastrointestinal oncology 2016 Saunders TA, Miller TR, Khanafshar E
• Does radiation dose matter in thyroid cancer?: Patterns of local-regional failure in recurrent and metastatic well-differentiated thyroid cancers treated with dose-painted intensity-modulated radiation therapy.
  Journal of medical imaging and radiation oncology 2016 Shugard E, Chen J, Quivey JM, Glastonbury CM, Khanafshar E, Garsa AA, George JR, Yom SS
• Thyroid Cytology: Benefits and Problems.
  Textbook of Endocrine Surgery 2016 Elham Khanafshar, Annemieke Zante
• Microscopic Positive Tumor Margin Does Not Increase the Risk of Recurrence in Patients with T1-T2 Well-Differentiated Thyroid Cancer.
  Annals of surgical oncology 2015 Kluijfhout WP, Pasternak JD, Kwon JS, Lim J, Shen WT, Gosnell JE, Khanafshar E, Duh QY, Suh I
• Phase I dose-escalation study of 5-day intermittent oral lapatinib therapy in patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-overexpressing breast cancer.
  Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2014 Chien AJ, Munster PN, Melisko ME, Rugo HS, Park JW, Goga A, Auerback G, Khanafshar E, Ordovas K, Koch KM, Moasser MM
• Salivary Gland and Soft Tissue Ultrasound-Guided Fine-Needle Aspiration.
  AJSP Review and Reports 2013 Elham Khanafshar, Britt-Marie Ljung
• Parathyroid Carcinoma.
  AJSP Review and Reports 2011 Elham Khanafshar, Annemieke van Zante
• A tumor-suppressing function in the epithelial adhesion protein Trask.
  Oncogene 2011 Spassov DS, Wong CH, Harris G, McDonough S, Phojanakong P, Wang D, Hann B, Bazarov AV, Yaswen P, Khanafshar E, Moasser MM
• A phase I dose and exposure escalation study of 5-day intermittent oral lapatinib (Lp) therapy in patients with HER2-overexpressing breast cancer (BC).
  Journal of Clinical Oncology 2011 A. J. Chien, K. Koch, G. Auerback, H. S. Rugo, M. E. Melisko, J. W. Park, E. Khanafshar, K. Ordovas, P. N. Munster, M. M. Moasser
• Medullary Thyroid Cancer: It is a pain in the neck?
  Journal of Cancer 2011 Guerrero MA, Lindsay S, Suh I, Vriens MR, Khanafshar E, Shen WT, Gosnell J, Kebebew E, Duh QY, Clark OH
• Higher rate of BRAF mutation in papillary thyroid cancer over time: a single-institution study.
  Cancer 2011 Mathur A, Moses W, Rahbari R, Khanafshar E, Duh QY, Clark O, Kebebew E
• Matrix Metalloproteinase Gene Expression Profiles Of Central Neck Lymph Node Metastases In Papillary Thyroid Cancer.
  Journal of Surgical Research 2011 E.J. Mitmaker, R.H. Grogan, J. Kansopon, E. Khanafshar, A. Harari, J. Gosnell, O.H. Clark, Q. Duh, W.T. Shen
• Metastatic papillary thyroid cancer misdiagnosed as non-small [corrected] cell lung cancer.
  Thyroid : official journal of the American Thyroid Association 2011 Moalem J, Choi DX, Khanafshar E, Ruan DT, Woeber KA, Clark OH, Kebebew E
• Papillary thyroid carcinoma variants.
  Head and neck pathology 2011 Lloyd RV, Buehler D, Khanafshar E
• The spectrum of papillary thyroid carcinoma variants.
  Advances in anatomic pathology 2011 Khanafshar E, Lloyd RV
• A large multicenter correlation study of thyroid nodule cytopathology and histopathology.
  Thyroid : official journal of the American Thyroid Association 2010 Wang CC, Friedman L, Kennedy GC, Wang H, Kebebew E, Steward DL, Zeiger MA, Westra WH, Wang Y, Khanafshar E, Fellegara G, Rosai J, Livolsi V, Lanman RB
• A prospective study evaluating the accuracy of using combined clinical factors and candidate diagnostic markers to refine the accuracy of thyroid fine needle aspiration biopsy.
  Surgery 2010 Mathur A, Weng J, Moses W, Steinberg SM, Rahbari R, Rahabari R, Kitano M, Khanafshar E, Ljung BM, Duh QY, Clark OH, Kebebew E
• Identification of differentially expressed microRNA in parathyroid tumors.
  Annals of surgical oncology 2010 Rahbari R, Holloway AK, He M, Khanafshar E, Clark OH, Kebebew E
• Molecular testing for somatic mutations improves the accuracy of thyroid fine-needle aspiration biopsy.
  World journal of surgery 2010 Moses W, Weng J, Sansano I, Peng M, Khanafshar E, Ljung BM, Duh QY, Clark OH, Kebebew E
• MicroRNA profiling of benign and malignant pheochromocytomas identifies novel diagnostic and therapeutic targets.
  Endocrine-related cancer 2010 Meyer-Rochow GY, Jackson NE, Conaglen JV, Whittle DE, Kunnimalaiyaan M, Chen H, Westin G, Sandgren J, Stålberg P, Khanafshar E, Shibru D, Duh QY, Clark OH, Kebebew E, Gill AJ, Clifton-Bligh R, …
• Intraoperative diagnostic strategy to distinguish parathyroid adenomas from metastatic thyroid cancer.
  Endocrine practice : official journal of the American College of Endocrinology and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists 2009 Guerrero MA, Vriens MR, Suh I, Khanafshar E, Clark OH
• Multiple genetic alterations in papillary thyroid cancer are associated with younger age at presentation.
  The Journal of surgical research 2009 Moses W, Weng J, Khanafshar E, Duh QY, Clark OH, Kebebew E
• A phase I dose-escalation study of 5-day intermittent oral lapatinib therapy with biomarker analysis in patients with HER-2–overexpressing breast cancer.
  Journal of Clinical Oncology 2009 A. J. Chien, G. Auerback, H. S. Rugo, M. Melisko, P. N. Munster, E. Khanafshar, K. G. Ordovas, E. F. Petricoin, K. M. Koch, M. M. Moasser
• Defining a molecular phenotype for benign and malignant parathyroid tumors.
  Cancer 2009 Fernandez-Ranvier GG, Khanafshar E, Tacha D, Wong M, Kebebew E, Duh QY, Clark OH
• Mitogen-inducible gene-6 expression correlates with survival and is an independent predictor of recurrence in BRAF(V600E) positive papillary thyroid cancers.
  Surgery 2008 Ruan DT, Warren RS, Moalem J, Chung KW, Griffin AC, Shen W, Duh QY, Nakakura E, Donner DB, Khanafshar E, Weng J, Clark OH, Kebebew E
• Does the 3-gene diagnostic assay accurately distinguish benign from malignant thyroid neoplasms?
  Cancer 2008 Shibru D, Hwang J, Khanafshar E, Duh QY, Clark OH, Kebebew E
• Identification of biomarkers of adrenocortical carcinoma using genomewide gene expression profiling.
  Archives of surgery (Chicago, Ill. : 1960) 2008 Fernandez-Ranvier GG, Weng J, Yeh RF, Khanafshar E, Suh I, Barker C, Duh QY, Clark OH, Kebebew E
• Tumor size predicts malignant potential in Hürthle cell neoplasms of the thyroid.
  World journal of surgery 2008 Sippel RS, Elaraj DM, Khanafshar E, Zarnegar R, Kebebew E, Duh QY, Clark OH
• Nonfunctioning parathyroid carcinoma: case report and review of literature.
  Endocrine practice : official journal of the American College of Endocrinology and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists 2007 Fernandez-Ranvier GG, Jensen K, Khanafshar E, Quivey JM, Glastonbury C, Kebebew E, Duh QY, Clark OH
• Does the presence of additional thyroid nodules on ultrasound alter the risk of malignancy in patients with a follicular neoplasm of the thyroid?
  Surgery 2007 Sippel RS, Elaraj DM, Khanafshar E, Kebebew E, Duh QY, Clark OH
• Parathyroid carcinoma, atypical parathyroid adenoma, or parathyromatosis?
  Cancer 2007 Fernandez-Ranvier GG, Khanafshar E, Jensen K, Zarnegar R, Lee J, Kebebew E, Duh QY, Clark OH
• Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor of the breast.
  Annals of diagnostic pathology 2005 Khanafshar E, Phillipson J, Schammel DP, Minobe L, Cymerman J, Weidner N
• Transmission of hepatitis B infection from hepatitis B core antibody--positive liver allografts is prevented by lamivudine therapy.
  Liver transplantation : official publication of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and the International Liver Transplantation Society 2001 Yu AS, Vierling JM, Colquhoun SD, Arnaout WS, Chan CK, Khanafshar E, Geller SA, Nichols WS, Fong TL