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. Alvarado M. Logic, reason, and freethought: The case against axillary dissection after neoadjuvant therapy. Eur J Surg Oncol. 2026 Feb 09; 52(4):111467. View on PubMed
  2. Montagna G, Alvarado M, Myers S, Mrdutt MM, Sun SX, Sevilimedu V, Barrio AV, van den Bruele AB, Boughey JC, Boyle MK, Crown A, Kesmodel SB, King TA, Kuerer HM, Leisha EC, Moo TA, Weiss A, Williams AD, Parmar P, Diskin B, Hlavin C, Diego EJ, Polidorio N, Abdelwahab K, Banys-Paluchowski M, Kurzeder C, Heidinger M, Goldschmidt M, Schulz A, Heil J, Karadeniz Cakmak G, Pislar N, Riis M, Prakash I, Ovalle V, Ugurlu MU, Franceschini G, Sergeevich EA, Morales J, Lee HB, Galimberti V, Ahn SG, Ryu JM, Muslumanoglu M, Cabioglu N, Yoo TR, Vrancken Peeters MJ, Ferrucci M, Morrow M, Weber WP, microNAC Study Group. Oncological outcomes with and without axillary lymph node dissection in patients with residual micrometastases after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (OPBC-07/microNAC): an international, retrospective cohort study. Lancet Oncol. 2026 Jan; 27(1):57-67. View on PubMed
  3. Ye J, Goldhammer N, Vohra P, Warhadpande S, de Castro GC, Rodas CKM, Moasser MM, Ramalingam K, Abe SE, Alvarado M, Ewing C, Goodwin KM, Mukhtar RA, Wong JM, Esserman LJ, Balassanian R, Rosenbluth JM. FNA biopsy of breast specimens effectively harvests cells for patient-derived organoids modeling ductal carcinoma in situ. Cancer Cytopathol. 2025 Nov; 133(11):e70052. View on PubMed
  4. Kaur M, Dimitroff K, Boughey JC, Esserman LJ, Yau C, Tchou J, Quirarte A, Lee MC, Howard-McNatt MM, Switalla K, Kuerer H, Sauder C, Postlewait LM, Arciero C, Rao R, Wallace A, Reyna C, Ahmed K, Gutnik L, Taunk N, Perlmutter J, DeMichele A, Yee D, Hylton NM, Symmans WF, Rugo HS, Shatsky RA, Isaacs C, Rudra S, Pohlmann P, Ewing C, Wong J, Alvarado M, Jaskowiak N, Prionas N, Golshan M, Piltin MA, Olopade OI, Mukhtar RA. Disparities in the Surgical Management of the Axilla by Self-Identified Race in the Multicenter Neoadjuvant I-SPY2 Trial. Ann Surg Oncol. 2025 Oct; 32(11):8211-8219. View on PubMed
  5. Vicini F, Shah C, Mittal K, Weinmann S, Leo M, Mann GB, Warnberg F, Rabinovitch R, Czerniecki B, Meattini I, Khan AJ, Jhawar S, Gerber N, Willey SC, Borgen P, AlHilli Z, Kruse M, Dabbs D, Shivers SC, Daily A, Whitworth P, Alvarado M, Mouabbi JA, Moran M, Rugo H, O'Shaughnessy JA, Bremer T. Limitations in the Application of Clinicopathologic Factors Alone in Predicting Radiation Benefit for Women With Low-Risk Ductal Carcinoma In Situ After Breast Conserving Surgery: The Impact of a 7-Gene Biosignature Based on 10-Year Ipsilateral Breast Recurrence Rates. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2025 Nov 15; 123(4):1090-1101. View on PubMed
  6. Mahuron KM, Shahid O, Sao P, Wu C, Haugh AM, Huppert LA, Levine LS, Lowe MM, Alvarado M, Micu M, Tsai KK, Chow M, Singer M, Schenkel JM, Sharpe AH, Rosenblum MD, Pauken KE, Daud AI. Single-Cell Analyses Reveal a Functionally Heterogeneous Exhausted CD8+ T-cell Subpopulation That Is Correlated with Response to Checkpoint Therapy in Melanoma. Cancer Res. 2025 Apr 15; 85(8):1424-1440. View on PubMed
  7. O'Keefe TJ, Alvarado MD, Esserman LJ. Bilateral Mastectomy vs Lumpectomy and Breast Cancer Mortality Risk. JAMA Oncol. 2025 Feb 01; 11(2):185. View on PubMed
  8. 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
  9. Landers MH, Newton F, Alvarado M, Bogduk N. Comparing the effectiveness of lumbar medial branch radiofrequency coagulation using 18-gauge and 16-gauge cannulae. Interv Pain Med. 2023 Dec; 2(4):100279. View on PubMed
  10. 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
  11. 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
  12. 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
  13. 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
  14. 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
  15. 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
  16. 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
  17. 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
  18. 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
  19. 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
  20. 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

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