Catherine L. Akay, M.D.
Department of Breast Surgical Oncology, Division of Surgery
About Dr. Catherine L. Akay
Dr. Catherine Akay is an Associate Professor in the Department of Breast Surgical Oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. She is board certified by the American Board of Surgery and a fellow of the Society of Surgical Oncology. She is an investigator on multiple clinical trials in breast cancer. Her research interests include perineural invasion in breast cancer and de-escalation of axillary surgery to minimize lymphedema risk.
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Professor, Breast Surgical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
Dual/Joint/Adjunct Appointment
Associate Professor, Breast Surgical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2003 | Saint Louis University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, Missouri, US, MD |
| 1999 | University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US, Neuroscience, BA |
Postgraduate Training
| 2010-2011 | Clinical Fellowship, Breast Surgical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas |
| 2005-2007 | Research Fellowship, Perineural invasion and mechanisms of tumor cell metastasis, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas |
| 2004-2010 | Clinical Residency, General Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas |
| 2003-2004 | Clinical Internship, General Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas |
Licenses & Certifications
| 2011 | American Board of Surgery |
| 2006 | Texas Medical Board |
Experience & Service
Faculty Academic Appointments
Assistant Professor, Breast Surgical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2012 - 2019
Clinical Specialist, Surgical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2010 - 2011
Other Professional Positions
Faculty Consultant, Breast Surgical Oncology, MD Anderson Cancer Network, Houston, Texas, 2019 - 2025
Intramural Institutional Committee Activities
Breast surgical oncology representative, MD Anderson Northwest Hospital Medical Appropriateness Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2022 - 2023
Breast Surgical Oncology Representative, Credentials Committee of the Medical Staff, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2021 - Present
Breast Surgery Representative for Houston Area Locations, Operating Room and Inpatient Clinical Coverage Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2021 - Present
Breast Surgery Lead, HAL Clinical Research Expansion Operations Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2013 - 2022
Extramural Institutional Committee Activities
Breast Surgical Oncology Lead, MD Anderson Cancer Network, Multidisciplinary Site Integration - Baptist, Jacksonville, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2020 - Present
Honors & Awards
| 2011 | Corynne S. Uhl Award for Compassion and Excellent Care, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2009 | Administrative Chief Resident, Michael E DeBakey Department of Surgery |
| 2009 | Raleigh Ross Scholar, Texas Surgical Society |
| 2006 - 2007 | Resident Research Award, Association for Academic Surgery |
| 2005 - 2006 | Young Investigator Award, Baylor College of Medicine |
| 1995 | National Merit Scholarship Finalist |
Professional Memberships
Selected Presentations & Talks
Local Presentations
- 2016. Clinical Evaluation of Breast Lesions. Invited. Houston Society of Clinical Pathologists Annual Meeting. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2016. Surgical Management of In Situ Lesions of the Breast. Invited. Houston Society of Clinical Pathologists Annual Meeting. Houston, Texas, US.
National Presentations
- 2021. An Exploratory Case-Control Study of Perineural Invasion in Breast Cancer. Poster. San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. San Antonio, Texas, US.
- 2015. Surgical Considerations in Patients Receiving Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy. Invited. The American Society of Breast Surgeons Annual Meeting. Orlando, Florida, US.
- 2012. Primary Tumor Resection as a Component of Multimodality Treatment May Improve Survival and Local Disease Control in Stage IV Inflammatory Breast Cancer. Poster. American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting. Chicago, Illinois, US.
- 2012. Intraoperative Evaluation of Sentinel Lymph Nodes is Accurate After Neoadjuvant Therapy for Breast Cancer. Poster. Society of Surgical Oncology Annual Cancer Symposium. Orlando, Florida, US.
- 2011. Validation of a Prognostic Index Score for Local-Regional Recurrence after Mastectomy or Breast Conservation Therapy in Patients Treated with Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy. Conference. Society of Surgical Oncology Annual Cancer Symposium. San Antonio, Texas, US.
- 2008. Angiocidin Expression is an Independent Prognostic Factor of Outcome in Colorectal Cancer. Conference. Annual Academic Surgical Congress. Huntington Beach, California, US.
- 2008. Silencing Angiocidin Expression Reduces Tumorigenicity of Colon Cancer Cells. Conference. Annual Academic Surgical Congress. Huntington Beach, California, US.
- 2007. Perineural Invasion is a Significant Prognostic Indicator in Colorectal Cancer. Poster. Society of Surgical Oncology Annual Cancer Symposium. Washington, DC, US.
- 2007. Angiocidin Inhibition by Two Novel Peptides Decreases Tumor Burden in a Nude Mouse Colon Cancer Model. Conference. Annual Academic Surgical Congress. Phoenix, Arizona, US.
- 2007. Perineural Invasion is a Significant Prognostic Indicator in Colorectal Cancer. Poster. American Society of Clinical Oncology Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium,. Orlando, Florida, US.
International Presentations
- 2017. Multidisciplinary Case Discussion. Invited. Turkish National Breast Diseases Congress. Antalya, TR.
Grant & Contract Support
| Date: | 2021 - 2023 |
| Title: | 5354-CL-1201: A Phase 2 Open-label, Dose-finding Study to Determine the Optimal dose for Lymph Node Visualization using ASP5354 in Participants with Breast Cancer or Melanoma Undergoing Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy |
| Funding Source: | Astellas Pharma US |
| Role: | PI |
| ID: | 00060236 |
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Schaverien, MV, Singh, P, Kuerer, HM, Akay, CL, Chavez Mac Gregor, M, Chu, K, Clemens, MW, Qiao, W, Smith, B, Hoffman, K. Comparison of Outcomes of Microsurgical Breast Reconstruction after Premastectomy and Postmastectomy Radiation Therapy. Journal of the American College of Surgeons 241(4):535-549, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 40366003.
- Schaverien MV, Singh P, Smith BD, Qiao W, Akay CL, Bloom ES, Chavez-MacGregor M, Chu CK, Clemens MW, Colen JS, Ehlers RA, Hwang RF, Joyner MM, Largo RD, Mericli AF, Mitchell MP, Shuck JW, Tamirisa N, Tripathy D, Villa MT, Woodward WA, Zacharia R, Kuerer HM, Hoffman KE. Premastectomy Radiotherapy and Immediate Breast Reconstruction: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open 7(4):e245217, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38578640.
- Boukovalas S, Liu J, Asaad M, Schaverien MV, Akay C, Garvey PB, Hwang RF, Offodile AC. Relationship Between Financial Toxicity and Surgical Treatment for Early-Stage Breast Cancer: A Propensity Score-Matched Comparison of Breast-Conserving Therapy and Mastectomy. J Am Coll Surg. 2021 Sep;233(3):445-456 233(3):445-456.e2, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 34111529.
- Santiago L, Volk RJ, Checka CM, Black D, Lee J, Colen JS, Akay C, Caudle A, Kuerer H, Arribas EM. Acceptability of 3D-printed breast models and their impact on the decisional conflict of breast cancer patients: A feasibility study. J Surg Oncol, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33577715.
- DeSnyder SM, Mittendorf EA, Le-Petross C, Krishnamurthy S, Whitman GJ, Ueno NT, Woodward WA, Kuerer HM, Akay CL, Babiera GV, Yang W, Lucci A. Prospective Feasibility Trial of Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in the Setting of Inflammatory Breast Cancer. Clin Breast Cancer, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 28755879.
- Akay CL, Albarracin C, Torstenson T, Bassett R, Mittendorf EA, Yi M, Kuerer HM, Babiera GV, Bedrosian I, Hunt KK, Hwang RF. Factors impacting the accuracy of intra-operative evaluation of sentinel lymph nodes in breast cancer. Breast J, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 28608612.
- Xiang DB, Wei B, Abraham SC, Huo L, Albarracin CT, Zhang H, Babiera G, Caudle AS, Akay CL, Rao P, Zhao YJ, Lu X, Wu Y. Molecular cytogenetic characterization of mammary neuroendocrine carcinoma. Hum Pathol 45(9):1951-6, 2014. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 25074542.
- Akay CL, Ueno NT, Chisholm GB, Hortobagyi GN, Woodward WA, Alvarez RH, Bedrosian I, Kuerer HM, Hunt KK, Huo L, Babiera GV. Primary tumor resection as a component of multimodality treatment may improve local control and survival in patients with stage IV inflammatory breast cancer. Cancer 120(9):1319-28, 2014. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 24510381.
- Takiar V, Akay CL, Stauder MC, Tereffe W, Alvarez R, Hoffman K, Perkins G, Strom E, Buchholz T, Ueno N, Babiera G, Woodward W. Predictors of Durable No Evidence of Disease Status in de novo Metastatic Inflammatory Breast Cancer Patients Treated with Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy and Post-Mastectomy Radiation. Springerplus, 2014. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 24711988.
- Akay CL, Meric-Bernstam F, Hunt KK, Grubbs EG, Bedrosian I, Tucker SL, Kuerer HM, Hoffman KE, Babiera GV, Strom EA, Buchholz TA, Mittendorf EA. Evaluation of the MD Anderson Prognostic Index for local-regional recurrence after breast conserving therapy in patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Ann Surg Oncol 19(3):901-7, 2012. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 21861223.
- Albo D, Akay CL, Marshall CL, Wilks JA, Verstovsek G, Liu H, Agarwal N, Berger DH, Ayala GE. Neurogenesis in colorectal cancer is a marker of aggressive tumor behavior and poor outcomes. Cancer 117(21):4834-45, 2011. e-Pub 2011. PMID: 21480205.
- Liebig C, Wilks JA, Feig BW, Wang TN, Wilson M, Herdman AV, Albo D. The role of angiocidin in sarcomas. Cancer 115(22):5251-62, 2009. e-Pub 2009. PMID: 19634159.
- Liebig C, Ayala G, Wilks J, Verstovsek G, Liu H, Agarwal N, Berger DH, Albo D. Perineural invasion is an independent predictor of outcome in colorectal cancer. J Clin Oncol 27(31):5131-7, 2009. e-Pub 2009. PMID: 19738119.
- Wilks JA, Liebig C, Tasleem SH, Haderxhanaj K, Lee L, Farrow B, Awad S, Berger D, Albo D. Rectal cancer patients benefit from implementation of a dedicated colorectal cancer center in a Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Am J Surg 198(1):100-4, 2009. e-Pub 2009. PMID: 19268899.
- Liebig C, Agarwal N, Ayala GE, Verstovsek G, Tuszynski GP, Albo D. Angiocidin inhibitory peptides decrease tumor burden in a murine colon cancer model. J Surg Res 142(2):320-6, 2007. e-Pub 2007. PMID: 17719063.
- Huang, ML, Chang Sen LQ, Lane DL, Candelaria RP, Kuerer HM, Hunt KK, Akay CL, Lim B, Shaitelman, SF, Hwang R, Chen H, Katta R, Santiago L. Defining breast cryoablation treatment success: a guide for the curative and palliative treatment of breast cancer. Academic Radiology. PMID: 39107186.
- Schaverien, M.V., Singh, P., Kuerer, H.M., Akay, C.L., Chavez-MacGregor, M., Chu, C.K., Clemens, M. W., Qiao, W., Smith, B.D., Hoffman, K.E.. Comparison of Outcomes of Microsurgical Breast Reconstruction After Premastectomy and Postmastectomy Radiation Therapy 240(5):700-710.
Invited Articles
- Akay CL. Invited Commentary on Margin Width Should Not Still Enforce a Systematic Surgical Re-excision in the Conservative Treatment of Early Breast Infiltrative Ductal Carcinoma in Breast Diseases: A Year Book Quarterly. Breast Diseases 25(3):245-6, 2014. e-Pub 2014.
Review Articles
- Akay CL. Perineural Invasion in Cancer: a Review of the Literature. Cancer, 2009. e-Pub 2009. PMID: 19484787.
Professional Educational Materials
- Akay C. Breast Education Self-Assessment Program II. The American Society of Breast Surgeons, 2015.
- Akay C. Breast Education Self-Assessment Program. The American Society of Breast Surgeons, 2014.
Abstracts
- Marshall CL, Orcutt ST, Ayala GE, Balentive CJ, Robinson CN, Akay CL, Dh B, Albo D. Stage II Colorectal Cancer Patients with Perineural Invasion Benefit from Adjuvant Chemotheraphy. Annals of Surgical Oncology 18(s76), 2011. e-Pub 2011.
- Wilks JA, Liebig C, Tasleem SH, Haderxhanaj K, etal. A Dedicated Colorectal Cancer Center in a Medical Center Provides Higher Quality of Care of Colorectal Cancer Patients. Journal of Surgical Research 151(2):238, 2009. e-Pub 2009.
- Wilks JA, Agarwal N, Liebig C, Shen X, etal. Angiocidin siRNA Inhibits Colon Cancer Growth in Vivo. Journal of Surgical Research 151(2):196-7, 2009. e-Pub 2009.
- Wilks JA, Liebig C, Agarawal N, etal. Thrombospondin-1, through Angiocidin, Up-regulates Gelatinase Expression in Colon Cancer Cells. Journal of Surgical Research 151(2):197-8, 2009. e-Pub 2009.
- Wilks JA, Liebig C, Haderxhanaj K, Saad M, Berger D, etal. Improvements in Colon Cancer Health Care Delivery with Implementation of a Dedicated Colorectal Cancer Center. Journal of the American College of Surgeons 207(3s):80-1, 2008. e-Pub 2008.
- Liebig CA, Wilks JA, Agarwal N, Verstovsek G, etal. Angiocidin: An Independent Prognostic Factor of Outcome in Colon Cancer. Journal of Surgical Research 144(2):220-221, 2008. e-Pub 2008.
- Agarwal N, Liebig C, Wilks J, Albo D. Silencing Angiocidin Expression Reduces Tumorigenicity of Colon Cancer Cells. Journal of Surgical Research 144(2):237-8, 2008. e-Pub 2008.
- Agarawal N, Liebig C, Wilks JA, Tusznski JP, etal. Structural Anaylsis and Cellular Distribution of Angiocidin in Cancer Cells. Journal of Surgical Research 144(2):306-7, 2008. e-Pub 2008.
- Liebig CA, Wilks JA, Agarwal N, Verstovsek G, etal. Neurogenesis in Colorectal Cancer. Journal of Surgical Research 144(2):220-1, 2008. e-Pub 2008.
- Liebig C, Agarwal N, Ayala G, Verstovsek G. Inhibition of Angiocidin by Two Novel Peptides Decreases Tumor Burden in an Orthotopic Nude Mouse Model. Journal of Surgical Research 137(2):183, 2007. e-Pub 2007.
- Agarwal N, Liebig C, Tuszynski GP, Bharadway U, Albo D. Fibroblasts Up-regulate Gelatinase Activity and Promote Tumor Cell Invasion in Colon Cancer Through Angiocidin. Journal of Surgical Research 137(2):222, 2007. e-Pub 2007.
- Leonard LD, Sun J, Bassett, R, Ehlers R, Refinetti A, Johnson H, Akay CL, Suarez Colon J, Bedrosian I, Hunt K,, Tamirisa N.. Surgeon Interpretation of Margin Status Utilizing Intraoperative 3D Tomosynthesis During Breast Conserving Surgery. American Society of Breast Surgeon's 26th Annual Meeting.
Book Chapters
- Akay CL, Meric-Bernstam F. Treatment of Advanced Breast Cancer. In: Surgery. JP Publishing, 2013.
- Akay CL, Kuerer HM, Hwang RF. Sential Lymph Node Biopsy in Breast Cancer: MD Anderson Cancer Center Approach. In: Advanced Therapy of Breast Diseases. Singletary, Robb and Hortobagyi, 2011.
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified July 22, 2026