Research Summary

Dr. Michael Alvarado is a cancer surgeon who cares for patients with breast cancer and melanoma at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center at Mount Zion.

In his research, Alvarado conducts trials of radiation therapy for breast cancer. He also studies blood-based and molecular markers with the goal of improving breast cancer screening.

Alvarado earned a master's degree in chemistry at the University of Arizona and a medical degree at Dartmouth College’s Geisel School of Medicine. After completing a residency at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, he completed a surgical oncology fellowship at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute at the University of South Florida.

Education

Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, B.S., 1989, Chemistry
University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, M.A., 1992, Physical Chemistry
Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, NH, M.D., 1998
Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH, 2004, Surgical Residency
H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, 2006, Surgical Oncology Fellow

Selected Publications

  1. O'Keefe TJ, Alvarado MD, Esserman LJ. Bilateral Mastectomy vs Lumpectomy and Breast Cancer Mortality Risk. JAMA Oncol. 2024 Dec 12.  View on PubMed
  2. Falade I, Switalla K, Quirarte A, Baxter M, Soroudi D, Rothschild H, Abe SE, Goodwin K, Piper M, Alvarado M, Julian BQ, Ewing C, Wong J, Rose J, Esserman L, Foster R, Mukhtar RA. Balancing risks of surgical complications and positive margins for patients with invasive lobular carcinoma of the breast and elevated BMI: An institutional cohort study. Am J Surg. 2025 Mar; 241:116073.  View on PubMed
  3. Rothschild HT, Clelland EN, Mujir F, Record H, Wong J, Esserman LJ, Alvarado M, Ewing C, Mukhtar RA. Predictors of Early Versus Late Recurrence in Invasive Lobular Carcinoma of the Breast: Impact of Local and Systemic Therapy. Ann Surg Oncol. 2023 Oct; 30(10):5999-6006.  View on PubMed
  4. Boughey JC, Yu H, Dugan CL, Piltin MA, Postlewait L, Son JD, Edmiston KK, Godellas CV, Lee MC, Carr MJ, Tonneson JE, Crown A, Lancaster RB, Woriax HE, Ewing CA, Chau HS, Patterson AK, Wong JM, Alvarado MD, Yang RL, Chan TW, Sheade JB, Ahrendt GM, Larson KE, Switalla K, Tuttle TM, Tchou JC, Rao R, Tamirisa N, Singh P, Gould RE, Terando A, Sauder C, Hewitt K, Chiba A, Esserman LJ, Mukhtar RA. Changes in Surgical Management of the Axilla Over 11 Years - Report on More Than 1500 Breast Cancer Patients Treated with Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy on the Prospective I-SPY2 Trial. Ann Surg Oncol. 2023 Oct; 30(11):6401-6410.  View on PubMed
  5. Mukhtar RA, Chau H, Woriax H, Piltin M, Ahrendt G, Tchou J, Yu H, Ding Q, Dugan CL, Sheade J, Crown A, Carr M, Wong J, Son J, Yang R, Chan T, Terando A, Alvarado M, Ewing C, Tonneson J, Tamirisa N, Gould R, Singh P, Godellas C, Larson K, Chiba A, Rao R, Sauder C, Postlewait L, Lee MC, Symmans WF, Esserman LJ, Boughey JC, ISPY-2 Locoregional Working Group. Breast Conservation Surgery and Mastectomy Have Similar Locoregional Recurrence After Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy: Results From 1462 Patients on the Prospective, Randomized I-SPY2 Trial. Ann Surg. 2023 09 01; 278(3):320-327.  View on PubMed
  6. Barnes LL, Foster R, Mukhtar RA, Esserman LJ, Ewing C, Alvarado M, Wong J, Piper M. Expanding Candidacy for Nipple-sparing Mastectomy in Women with Large or Ptotic Breasts: Staged Reconstruction Outcomes. Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open. 2023 Jan; 11(1):e4767.  View on PubMed
  7. Onal C, Sezen D, Oymak E, Bölükbasi Y. In Regard to Hammer et al. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2023 Jan 01; 115(1):253-254.  View on PubMed
  8. Vaidya JS, Bulsara M, Wenz F, Sperk E, Massarut S, Alvarado M, Williams NR, Brew-Graves C, Bernstein M, Holmes D, Vinante L, Pigorsch S, Lundgren S, Uhl V, Joseph D, Tobias JS. In Reply to Ward et al. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2023 Jan 01; 115(1):256-259.  View on PubMed
  9. Vaidya JS, Bulsara M, Wenz F, Sperk E, Massarut S, Alvarado M, Williams NR, Brew-Graves C, Bernstein M, Holmes D, Vinante L, Pigorsch S, Lundgren S, Uhl V, Joseph D, Tobias JS, TARGIT-A authors. The TARGIT-A Randomized Trial: TARGIT-IORT Versus Whole Breast Radiation Therapy: Long-Term Local Control and Survival. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2023 01 01; 115(1):77-82.  View on PubMed
  10. Clark AS, Yau C, Wolf DM, Petricoin EF, van 't Veer LJ, Yee D, Moulder SL, Wallace AM, Chien AJ, Isaacs C, Boughey JC, Albain KS, Kemmer K, Haley BB, Han HS, Forero-Torres A, Elias A, Lang JE, Ellis ED, Yung R, Tripathy D, Nanda R, Wulfkuhle JD, Brown-Swigart L, Gallagher RI, Helsten T, Roesch E, Ewing CA, Alvarado M, Crane EP, Buxton M, Clennell JL, Paoloni M, Asare SM, Wilson A, Hirst GL, Singhrao R, Steeg K, Asare A, Matthews JB, Berry S, Sanil A, Melisko M, Perlmutter J, Rugo HS, Schwab RB, Symmans WF, Hylton NM, Berry DA, Esserman LJ, DeMichele AM. Neoadjuvant T-DM1/pertuzumab and paclitaxel/trastuzumab/pertuzumab for HER2+ breast cancer in the adaptively randomized I-SPY2 trial. Nat Commun. 2021 11 05; 12(1):6428.  View on PubMed
  11. Ahmad TR, Vasudevan HN, Lazar AA, Chan JW, George JR, Alvarado MD, Yu SS, Daud A, Yom SS. Should Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy Status Guide Adjuvant Radiation Therapy in Patients With Merkel Cell Carcinoma? Adv Radiat Oncol. 2021 Nov-Dec; 6(6):100764.  View on PubMed
  12. Hewitt KC, Miller P, Piper M, Prionas N, Son JD, Alvarado M, Esserman LJ, Wong JM, Ewing C, Mukhtar RA. Positive margins after mastectomy in patients with invasive lobular carcinoma of the breast: Incidence and management strategies. Am J Surg. 2022 04; 223(4):699-704.  View on PubMed
  13. Glencer AC, Wong JM, Hylton NM, Krings G, McCune E, Rothschild HT, Loveday TA, Alvarado MD, Esserman LJ, Campbell MJ. Modulation of the immune microenvironment of high-risk ductal carcinoma in situ by intralesional pembrolizumab injection. NPJ Breast Cancer. 2021 May 25; 7(1):59.  View on PubMed
  14. Vaidya JS, Bulsara M, Baum M, Wenz F, Massarut S, Pigorsch S, Alvarado M, Douek M, Saunders C, Flyger H, Eiermann W, Brew-Graves C, Williams NR, Potyka I, Roberts N, Bernstein M, Brown D, Sperk E, Laws S, Sütterlin M, Corica T, Lundgren S, Holmes D, Vinante L, Bozza F, Pazos M, Blanc-Onfroy ML, Gruber G, Polkowski W, Dedes KJ, Niewald M, Blohmer J, McReady D, Hoefer R, Kelemen P, Petralia G, Falzon M, Joseph D, Tobias JS. New clinical and biological insights from the international TARGIT-A randomised trial of targeted intraoperative radiotherapy during lumpectomy for breast cancer. Br J Cancer. 2021 08; 125(3):380-389.  View on PubMed
  15. Abel MK, Greenwood H, Kelil T, Guo R, Brabham C, Hylton N, Wong J, Alvarado M, Ewing C, Esserman LJ, Boughey JC, Mukhtar RA. Accuracy of breast MRI in evaluating nodal status after neoadjuvant therapy in invasive lobular carcinoma. NPJ Breast Cancer. 2021 Mar 05; 7(1):25.  View on PubMed
  16. Vaidya JS, Bulsara M, Baum M, Alvarado M, Bernstein M, Massarut S, Saunders C, Sperk E, Wenz F, Tobias JS, TARGIT-A investigators. Intraoperative radiotherapy for breast cancer: powerful evidence to change practice. Nat Rev Clin Oncol. 2021 03; 18(3):187-188.  View on PubMed
  17. Vaidya JS, Bulsara M, Sperk E, Massarut S, Douek M, Alvarado M, Pigorsch S, Holmes D, Bernstein M, Saunders C, Flyger H, Joseph D, Wenz F, Tobias JS, TARGIT-A Investigators. In Regard to Polgar et al. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2021 07 01; 110(3):905-907.  View on PubMed
  18. Mukhtar RA, Brabham CE, Guo R, Abel MK, Wong J, Ewing C, Esserman LJ, Alvarado M. Accuracy of sentinel lymph node biopsy in invasive lobular carcinoma of the breast: Factors associated with false negatives. Breast J. 2021 04; 27(4):406-408.  View on PubMed
  19. Alvarado MD, Mittendorf EA, Teshome M, Thompson AM, Bold RJ, Gittleman MA, Beitsch PD, Blair SL, Kivilaid K, Harmer QJ, Hunt KK. Correction to: SentimagIC: A Non-inferiority Trial Comparing Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Versus Technetium-99m and Blue Dye in the Detection of Axillary Sentinel Nodes in Patients with Early-Stage Breast Cancer. Ann Surg Oncol. 2020 Dec; 27(Suppl 3):979.  View on PubMed
  20. Son JD, Piper M, Hewitt K, Alvarado M, Esserman LJ, Ewing C, Wong JM, Mukhtar RA. Oncological Outcomes of Total Skin-Sparing Mastectomy for Invasive Lobular Carcinoma of the Breast: A 20-Year Institutional Experience. Ann Surg Oncol. 2021 May; 28(5):2555-2560.  View on PubMed

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