Flavio G. Rocha, M.D., FACS, FSSO

  • Professor of Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology, School of Medicine
  • Hugh Hedinger and Georgeina Hedinger Chair of Surgical Oncology, Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology, School of Medicine

Biography

Dr. Rocha is a surgical oncologist who specializes in the treatment of liver, pancreas and biliary tumors and disease. In addition, he has expertise in managing upper gastrointestinal cancers and retroperitoneal sarcomas. As a cancer surgeon, he takes particular pride in providing timely, compassionate care for his patients. In addition, he strongly believes in the multidisciplinary management of tumors with colleagues in other oncologic specialties. His research interests are in pancreas cancer and cholangiocarcinoma where he strives to improve outcomes across disease stages.

In his free time, Dr. Rocha enjoys traveling and hiking with his wife, children and golden retriever around the Pacific Northwest. As an avid sports fan, he follows football, basketball and soccer at all levels. Active hobbies include photography, history of science and medicine as well as sampling international culinary arts.

Education and training

  • Degrees

    • B.S., 1996, Johns Hopkins University
    • M.D., 2001, University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine

  • Residency

    • General Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 2009

  • Fellowship

    • Surgical Oncology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 2011
    • Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 2011

  • Certifications

    • American Board of Surgery, 2010 original, recertification 2020

Memberships and associations:

  • American College of Surgeons
  • Americas Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association
  • North Pacific Surgical Association
  • Pacific Coast Surgical Association
  • Society of Surgical Oncology
  • Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract
  • Southwest Oncology Group
  • Western Surgical Association

Areas of interest

  • Clinical research and translational studies in cholangiocarcinoma
  • Clinical trial development in cholangiocarcinoma
  • Cancer of the upper gastrointestinal tract (including liver, bile ducts, pancreas, stomach, small bowel and sarcoma)

Publications

Elsevier pure profile

Selected publications

  • Bonds M and Rocha F. Neuroendocrine Tumors. In: Zuckerman R, Wilkinson N, editors. Surgical Oncology for General Surgeon. Surgical Clinics of North America. 2020;100(3):635-48. 
  • Dong DH, Zhang XF, Lopez-Aguilar AG, Poultsides G, Rocha F, Weber S, Fields R, Idrees K, Cho C, Spolverato G, Maithel SK, Pawlik T. Surgical outcomes of patients with duodenal versus pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors following pancreaticoduodenectomy.  J Surg Oncol 2020 (in press)
  • Zhang XF, Xue F, Wu Z, Loprez-Aguilar AG, Poutsides G, Makris E, Rocha F, Kanji Z, Weber S, Fisher A, Fields R, Krasnik B, Idress K, Smith PM, Cho C, Beems M, Lyu Y, Maithel SK, Pawlik T.  Development and validation of a modified 8th AJCC staging system for primary pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. Ann Surg 2020 (in press)  
  • Heidsma C, Tsilimigras D, Rocha F, Abbott D, Fields R, Smith P, Poultsides G, Cho C, van Eijk C, van Dijkum E, Maithel S, Pawlik T. Clinical relevance of performing endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle biopsy for pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors less than 2 cm. J Surg Oncol 2020 (in press) 
  • Heidsma C, Tsilimigras D, van Dieren S, Rocha F, Abbott D, Fields R, Smith P, Poultsides G, Cho C, Dilhoff M, Lopez-Aguilar A, Kanji Z, Fisher A, Krasnick B, Idrees K, Makris E, Beems M, van Eijk C, Nieveen, van Dijkum E, Maithel S, Pawlik T.  Indications and outcomes of enucleation versus formal pancreatectomy for pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.  HPB 2020 (in press) 
  • Rose JB, Edwards AM, Rocha F, Clark C, Alseidi AA, Biehl TR, Lin BS, Picozzi VJ, Helton WA. Sustained CA 19-9 response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in borderline resectable pancreatic cancer predicts progression and survival. Oncologist 2020 (in press) 
  • Heidsma CM, Hyer M, Tsilimigras DI, Rocha F, Abbott DE, Fields R, Smith PM, Poultsides GA, Cho C, Maithel SK, Pawlik TM; Other Members of the US Neuroendocrine Tumor Study Group. Incidence and impact of Textbook Outcome among patients undergoing resection of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors: Results of the US Neuroendocrine Tumor Study Group. J Surg Oncol. 2020 Jun;121(8):1201-1208. doi: 10.1002/jso.25900. Epub 2020 Mar 17. PMID: 32185804.
  • Bonds M, Rekman J, Rocha FG*. Central pancreatectomy with pancreaticogastrostomy reconstruction: A brief report and video technique. Am J Surg. 2020 May;219(5):828-830. doi: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2020.01.037. Epub 2020 Feb 1. PMID: 32057412. 
  • Sahara K, Tsilimigras DI, Moro A, Mehta R, Dillhoff M, Heidsma CM, Lopez-Aguiar AG, Maithel SK, Rocha F, Kanji Z, Abbott DE, Fisher A, Fields R, Krasnick BA, Idrees K, Smith PM, Poultsides GA, Makris E, Cho CS, Beems M, Endo I, Pawlik TM. Long-Term Outcomes after SpleenPreserving Distal Pancreatectomy for Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors: Results from the US Neuroendocrine Study Group. Neuroendocrinology. 2020 Feb 11. doi: 10.1159/000506399. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 32040951
  • Dong DH, Zhang XF, Lopez-Aguiar AG, Poultsides G, Makris E, Rocha F, Kanji Z, Weber S, Fisher A, Fields R, Krasnick BA, Idrees K, Smith PM, Cho C, Beems M, Schmidt CR, Dillhoff M, Maithel SK, Pawlik TM. Tumor burden score predicts tumor recurrence of non-functional pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors after curative resection. HPB (Oxford). 2020 Aug;22(8):1149-1157. doi: 10.1016/j.hpb.2019.11.009. Epub 2019 Dec 9. PMID: 31822386.

Publications

  • GI Surgery Summit white paper

    Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery
    1. Jenny H. Chang
    2. Kelsey Romatoski
    3. Madeline B. Torres
    4. Cyrus John Sholevar
    5. Brenessa Lindeman
    6. Cameron Gaskill
    7. Callisia N. Clark
    8. Flavio Rocha
    9. Taylor S. Riall
    10. Jennifer F. Tseng
    11. Jennifer S. Davids
    12. Timothy M. Pawlik
    13. R. Matthew Walsh

  • Prognostic Significance of Recurrence and Timing of Recurrence on Survival Among Patients with Early-Stage Hepatocellular Carcinoma in U.S. Clinical Practice

    Annals of surgical oncology
    1. Shishir K. Maithel
    2. Rongrong Wang
    3. Joanna Harton
    4. Adam Yopp
    5. Shimul A. Shah
    6. Flavio G. Rocha
    7. Sairy Hernandez
    8. Spencer Cheng
    9. Sarika Ogale
    10. Ruoding Tan

  • Accuracy and Prognostic Impact of Nodal Status on Preoperative Imaging for Management of Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors

    Annals of surgical oncology
    1. Nan Zhang
    2. Jin He
    3. Shishir K. Maithel
    4. George Poultsides
    5. Flavio Rocha
    6. Sharon Weber
    7. Ryan Fields
    8. Kamran Idrees
    9. Cliff Cho
    10. Yi Lv
    11. Xu Feng Zhang
    12. Timothy M. Pawlik

  • A Modified Floxuridine Reduced-Dose Protocol for Patients with Unresectable Colorectal Liver Metastases Treated with Hepatic Arterial Infusion

    Annals of surgical oncology
    1. Issac R. Schwantes
    2. Ranish K. Patel
    3. Adel Kardosh
    4. Jillian Paxton
    5. Robert Eil
    6. Emerson Y. Chen
    7. Flavio G. Rocha
    8. Emile Latour
    9. Guillaume Pegna
    10. Charles D. Lopez
    11. Skye C. Mayo

  • Incidence and Prognostic Implications of Lymphovascular Invasion in Node-Negative Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors

    Journal of surgical oncology
    1. Kota Sahara
    2. Diamantis I. Tsilimigras
    3. Yuki Homma
    4. Jun Kawashima
    5. Shishir K. Maithel
    6. Flavio Rocha
    7. Sharon Weber
    8. Ryan Fields
    9. Kamran Idrees
    10. George A. Poultsides
    11. Cliff Cho
    12. Itaru Endo
    13. Timothy M. Pawlik

  • Low Prognostic Nutritional Index Is Common and Associated with Poor Outcomes following Curative-Intent Resection for Gastro-Entero-Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors

    Neuroendocrinology
    1. Jun Xi Xiang
    2. Ye Rong Qian
    3. Jin He
    4. Alexandra G. Lopez-Aguiar
    5. George Poultsides
    6. Flavio Rocha
    7. Sharon Weber
    8. Ryan Fields
    9. Kamran Idrees
    10. Cliff Cho
    11. Shishir K. Maithel
    12. Yi Lv
    13. Xu Feng Zhang
    14. Timothy M. Pawlik

  • Pancreas preserving duodenectomy (PPrD)

    American journal of surgery
    1. Christine Chung
    2. Stephanie Stovall
    3. Stella R. Biehl
    4. Flavio Rocha
    5. Lauren Wancata
    6. Scott Helton
    7. Thomas Biehl

  • Preoperative anemia

    Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery
    1. Jun Xi Xiang
    2. Yang Long Nan
    3. Jin He
    4. Alexandra G. Lopez-Aguiar
    5. George Poultsides
    6. Flavio Rocha
    7. Sharon Weber
    8. Ryan Fields
    9. Kamran Idrees
    10. Cliff Cho
    11. Shishir K. Maithel
    12. Yi Lv
    13. Xu Feng Zhang
    14. Timothy M. Pawlik

  • Preoperative Glycosylated Hemoglobin A1C Impacts Long-Term Outcomes Following Curative-Intent Resection of Nonfunctional Gastroenteropancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors

    Journal of surgical oncology
    1. Mu Xing Li
    2. Alexandra G. Lopez-Aguiar
    3. George Poultsides
    4. Flavio Rocha
    5. Sharon Weber
    6. Ryan Fields
    7. Kamran Idrees
    8. Cliff Cho
    9. Shishir K. Maithel
    10. Xu Feng Zhang
    11. Timothy M. Pawlik

  • Rapid metastatic recurrence after pancreatic cancer resection

    HPB
    1. Ranish K. Patel
    2. Gustavo Salgado-Garza
    3. Thomas L. Sutton
    4. Jackie L. Phipps
    5. Pavlos Papavasiliou
    6. Jon M. Gerry
    7. Alicia J. Johnson
    8. Flavio G. Rocha
    9. Brett C. Sheppard
    10. Patrick J. Worth

  • Survival disparities in rural versus urban patients with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor

    American journal of surgery
    1. Muhammad Bilal Mirza
    2. Jordan J. Baechle
    3. Paula Marincola Smith
    4. Mary Dillhoff
    5. George Poultsides
    6. Flavio G. Rocha
    7. Clifford S. Cho
    8. Emily R. Winslow
    9. Ryan C. Fields
    10. Shishir K. Maithel
    11. Kamran Idrees

  • Adjuvant Chemoradiation in Patients with Lymph Node-Positive Biliary Tract Cancers

    Annals of surgical oncology
    1. Sepideh Gholami
    2. Sarah Colby
    3. David P. Horowitz
    4. Katherine A. Guthrie
    5. Edgar Ben-Josef
    6. Anthony B. El-Khoueiry
    7. Charles D. Blanke
    8. Philip A. Philip
    9. Lisa A. Kachnic
    10. Syed A. Ahmad
    11. Flavio G. Rocha

  • Calcifications and Cystic Morphology on Preoperative Imaging Predict Survival After Resection of Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors

    Annals of surgical oncology
    1. Eleftherios A. Makris
    2. John G.Douglas Cannon
    3. Jeffrey A. Norton
    4. Alexandra G. Lopez-Aguiar
    5. Mary Dillhoff
    6. Eliza Beal
    7. Kamran Idrees
    8. Paula Marincola Smith
    9. Flavio G. Rocha
    10. Zaheer Kanji
    11. Clifford Cho
    12. Megan Beems
    13. Sharon Weber
    14. Alexander Fisher
    15. Bradley A. Krasnick
    16. Ryan C. Fields
    17. Shishir K. Maithel
    18. George A. Poultsides

  • Care at high-volume centers is associated with improved outcomes for patients with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors

    Journal of surgical oncology
    1. Ranish K. Patel
    2. Thomas L. Sutton
    3. Issac R. Schwantes
    4. Shay Behrens
    5. Rodney F. Pommier
    6. Flavio G. Rocha
    7. Brett C. Sheppard

  • Current Practices in Hepatic Artery Infusion (HAI) Chemotherapy

    Annals of surgical oncology
    1. Sean J. Judge
    2. Tara Ghalambor
    3. Michael J. Cavnar
    4. Michael E. Lidsky
    5. Ryan P. Merkow
    6. May Cho
    7. Ismael Dominguez-Rosado
    8. Paul J. Karanicolas
    9. Skye C. Mayo
    10. Flavio G. Rocha
    11. Ryan C. Fields
    12. Reema A. Patel
    13. Hagen F. Kennecke
    14. Bas Groot Koerkamp
    15. Adam C. Yopp
    16. Henrik Petrowsky
    17. Devalingham Mahalingam
    18. Nancy Kemeny
    19. Michael D’Angelica
    20. Sepideh Gholami

  • Current Progress and Advances in Gastrointestinal Cancers

    Journal of Gastrointestinal Cancer
    1. Sepideh Gholami
    2. Mustafa Abidalhassan
    3. May Cho
    4. Anwaar Saeed
    5. Flavio G. Rocha

  • Expression of Checkpoint Molecules in the Tumor Microenvironment of Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma

    Cells
    1. Lara Heij
    2. Jan Bednarsch
    3. Xiuxiang Tan
    4. Mika Rosin
    5. Simone Appinger
    6. Konrad Reichel
    7. Dana Pecina
    8. Michail Doukas
    9. Ronald M. van Dam
    10. Juan Garcia Vallejo
    11. Florian Ulmer
    12. Sven Lang
    13. Tom Luedde
    14. Flavio G. Rocha
    15. Shivan Sivakumar
    16. Ulf Peter Neumann

  • Great Debates

    Annals of surgical oncology
    1. Hop S. Tran Cao
    2. Cristina Ferrone
    3. Shishir K. Maithel
    4. Flavio G. Rocha

  • Hepatectomy is associated with improved oncologic outcomes in recurrent colorectal liver metastases

    Surgery (United States)
    1. Thomas L. Sutton
    2. Liam H. Wong
    3. Brett S. Walker
    4. Elizabeth N. Dewey
    5. Robert Eil
    6. Charles Lopez
    7. Adel Kardosh
    8. Emerson Chen
    9. Flavio Rocha
    10. Kevin Billingsley
    11. Skye C. Mayo

  • NEO-GAP

    Annals of surgical oncology
    1. Shishir K. Maithel
    2. Jessica M. Keilson
    3. Hop S.Tran Cao
    4. Manali Rupji
    5. Amit Mahipal
    6. Bruce S. Lin
    7. Milind M. Javle
    8. Sean P. Cleary
    9. Mehmet Akce
    10. Jeffrey M. Switchenko
    11. Flavio G. Rocha

  • Role of genomics in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma for liver-directed therapy

    Surgery (United States)
    1. Ranish K. Patel
    2. Flavio G. Rocha

  • Socioeconomic and Geographic Disparities in the Referral and Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer at High-Volume Centers

    JAMA Surgery
    1. Thomas L. Sutton
    2. Blake Beneville
    3. Alicia J. Johnson
    4. Skye Mayo
    5. Erin Gilbert
    6. Charles Lopez
    7. Aaron Grossberg
    8. Flavio Rocha
    9. Brett C. Sheppard