Overview

Dr. Jorge Nieva graduated from the University of California, Irvine College of Medicine in 1997, trained in internal medicine at University of California, San Diego and in oncology and hematology at the Scripps Clinic. In 2003 he joined the faculty of the Scripps Research Institute and the medical staff of the Scripps Clinic in La Jolla, CA. While at Scripps, Dr. Nieva pioneered new technology for the detection of cancer cells in the peripheral blood and discoveries related to the fundamental mechanisms of the immune system.

Dr. Nieva was recruited to the Billings Clinic in Montana in 2007 where he served as department chair and was a program leader who established the multidisciplinary lung cancer and head/neck cancer clinics at the cancer center. While in Billings, Dr. Nieva led efforts to establish a research program in virus-delivered cancer gene therapy and immunotherapy. His teams were awarded certificates for excellence in the conduct of cancer clinical trials from the National Cancer Institute and the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Dr. Nieva returned to California, joining the faculty of the Keck School of Medicine in 2014.

Awards

  • University of California, Irvine: Department of Medicine Award
  • University of California, Irvine: Excellence in Research
  • University of California, Irvine: Departmental Honors, Biological Sciences

Publications

  • Exploring PDLIM2 as a prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target in lung adenocarcinoma. Br J Cancer. 2026 Aug 08.. View in PubMed
  • Dietary and Lifestyle Patterns among Young Patients with Lung Cancer: Analysis of Mutation-Specific Phenotypes. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2026 Aug 03; 35(8):1453-1462.. View in PubMed
  • Integrated Molecular and Clinical Analysis of Thymic Epithelial Tumors. JCO Precis Oncol. 2026 Jun; 10(6):e2600001.. View in PubMed
  • Comparative effectiveness of first-line targeted therapies in ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer: real-world evidence of tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Lung Cancer. 2026 Jul; 217:109451.. View in PubMed
  • Augmenting Performance Status: A Preliminary Study of Objective Kinematic Assessment Using Motion Capture. Oncol Ther. 2026 Jun; 14(2):735-747.. View in PubMed
  • Association of cannabis use and lung cancer: a retrospective cohort study. Lung Cancer. 2026 Jun; 216:109421.. View in PubMed
  • Copper isotope fractionation and copper-to-zinc ratios reveal altered metal homeostasis in prostate cancer. Sci Rep. 2026 Apr 20; 16(1).. View in PubMed
  • Eligibility criteria and study phase limit racial/ethnic enrollment in oncology clinical trials. BMC Cancer. 2026 Apr 17; 26(1).. View in PubMed
  • Cost comparison of osimertinib plus platinum-pemetrexed versus amivantamab plus lazertinib for the first-line treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic epidermal growth factor receptor-mutated non-small cell lung cancer. J Med Econ. 2026 Dec; 29(1):1059-1075.. View in PubMed
  • Impact of race/ethnicity and the presence of immune-related adverse events on outcomes for non-small cell lung cancer patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors. Ther Adv Med Oncol. 2026; 18:17588359261423890.. View in PubMed