Milos Miljković, M.D., M.Sc.

Milos Miljkovic, M.D., M.Sc.
Assistant Research Physician
Lymphoid Malignancies Branch

Dr. Miljkovic is a staff clinician in the Waldmann Lab Clinical Trials Team. He studies causes, evolution, and treatment of mature T-cell malignancies such as adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma, cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, and peripheral T-cell lymphoma, using immunotherapy and targeted agents in rationally designed phase I and II trials.

Areas of Expertise

1) mature T-cell malignancies, 2) thymus development, 3) cytokine therapy,
4) interleukin-15 (IL-15)

Contact Info

Milos Miljković, M.D., M.Sc.
Center for Cancer Research
National Cancer Institute
CRC Building 10, Room 4B44
Bethesda, MD 20892
Ph: 240-760-6063
miljkovicm@mail.nih.gov

Mature T-cell lymphomas/leukemias are a heterogeneous group of neoplasms derived from post-thymic T cells. They have diverse clinical presentations, aggressive clinical course, and poor response to conventional chemotherapy. Due to their rarity and nonspecific features, molecular and genetic characterization of these malignancies has lagged behind B-cell lymphomas. In addition, most new immunotherapy modalities, such as cellular therapy and immune checkpoint inhibition, have to be approached with caution, as the very cells that these treatments use and activate may be malignant.

Interleukin-15 (IL-15) is a member of the 4-alpha helix bundle family of cytokines that acts through a heterotrimeric receptor involving IL-2/IL-15R beta subunit shared with interleukin-2 (IL-2), the common gamma chain shared with IL-2, IL-4, IL-9 and IL-21, and the IL-15 specific receptor subunit IL-15R alpha. The Clinical Trials Team has performed the first-in-human trial of IL-15 in patients with advanced solid tumors, and is now using it in combination with the anti-CD52 antibody alemtuzumab (Campath) for treatment of CD52-positive T-cell malignancies.

NIH Scientific Focus Areas:
Cancer Biology, Cell Biology, Clinical Research, Immunology

Selected Key Publications

  1. Patterns of Radiation-Associated Lymphopenia in Children with Cancer.
    Miljković MD, Grossman SA, Ye X, Ellsworth S, and Terezakis S.
    Cancer Invest. 34: 32-8, 2016. [ Journal Article ]
  2. Role of CCL19/21 and its possible signaling through CXCR3 in development of metallophilic macrophages in the mouse thymus.
    Milićević NM, Miljković MD, Milićević Z, Labudović-Borović M, Wang X, Laan M, Peterson P, Randall TD, and Westermann J.
    Histochem Cell Biol. 135: 593-601, 2011. [ Journal Article ]
  3. Metallophilic macrophages are fully developed in the thymus of autoimmune regulator (Aire)-deficient mice.
    Milićević NM, Milićević Z, Miljković MD, Labudović-Borović M, Laan M, Peterson P, Kisand K, Scott HS, Qu N, and Westermann J.
    Histochem Cell Biol. 131: 643-9, 2009. [ Journal Article ]

Milos Miljković, M.D., M.Sc., is a staff clinician at the Lymphoid Malignancies Branch, NCI. He completed his fellowship in hematology and medical oncology at the combined NCI/NHLBI training program, following his residency at the Johns Hopkins University/Sinai Hospital program in internal medicine, where he spent an additional year serving as a chief resident. He received both a medical and a master of science degree in histology, embryology, immunohistochemistry, and electron microscopy at the Belgrade University School of Medicine in Serbia. As a clinical fellow at the NCI, he was in the lab of Dr. Ronald Gress at NCI's Experimental Transplantation and Immunology Branch, where he helped characterize the structure, function, and expression patterns of Tbata—a gene involved in thymic involution. For his research in using Tbata to enhance response to cancer chemotherapy and immunotherapy he has received the 2017 Conquer Cancer Foundation/Pfizer Oncology Young Investigator Award.