Meet Craig Kovitz, M.D.
Craig A. Kovitz, M.D.
Department of General Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine
About Dr. Kovitz
Dr. Kovitz is a general medical oncologist and hematologist with a broad practice that encompasses the treatment of solid organ cancers as well as benign and malignant blood disorders. Dr. Kovitz graduated from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in 1997 and subsequently went on to do residency training in Internal Medicine at Wilford Hall United States Air Force Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. After services as an attending internist and the Associate Director of the Internal Medicine training program at Keelser United States Air Force Medical Center in Biloxi, MS, he moved to Houston to complete his fellowship training in medical oncology and hematology at MD Anderson Cancer Center. After completing this training, he helped launch and grow the MD Anderson Regional Care Center in the Bay Area, one of four multidisciplinary care centers serving MD Anderson patients around Houston. He now proudly serves the North Houston community as a faculty member in the Woodlands. Dr. Kovitz is committed to delivering outstanding, compassionate, research-driven multidisciplinary care to every patient he encounters. He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians and is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
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Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Professor, General Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Professor, Genitourinary Medical Oncology (Joint Appointment), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Dual/Joint/Adjunct Appointment
Professor, General Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
Professor, Genitourinary Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 1997 | Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York, US, MD |
| 1993 | Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, US, Biological Sciences, BS |
Postgraduate Training
| 2004-2007 | Fellowship, Medical Oncology Hematology, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas |
| 1998-2000 | Clinical Residency, Internal Medicine, Wilford Hall Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas |
| 1997-1998 | Clinical Internship, Internal Medicine, Wilford Hall Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas |
Licenses & Certifications
| 2024 | Arizona Board of Medical Examiners |
| 2023 | Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners |
| 2023 | Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners |
| 2023 | Washington State Department of Health |
| 2023 | Mississippi State Board of Medical Licensure |
| 2023 | Oklahoma State Board of Medical Licensure |
| 2022 | Alabama Board of Medical Examiners |
| 2022 | Georgia Composite Medical Board |
| 2022 | Florida Board of Medicine |
| 2016 | DEA |
| 2007 | Medical Oncology; American Board of Internal Medicine |
| 2007 | Hematology; American Board of Internal Medicine |
| 2000 | Internal Medicine; American Board of Internal Medicine |
| 1998 | Texas Medical Board |
Experience & Service
Faculty Academic Appointments
Associate Professor, Genitourinary Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2020 - 2022
Associate Professor, General Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2016 - 2022
Associate Medical Director/Medical Oncology, General Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2010 - 2012
Assistant Professor, General Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2007 - 2013
Administrative Appointments/Responsibilities
Section Chief, Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, 2020 - Present
Safety & Quality Officer, General Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, 2018 - 2025
Chief Fellow, General Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2006 - 2007
Teaching Fellow, General Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2005 - 2006
Associate Program Director, Internal Medicine Program, Keesler Medical Center, Keesler AFB, MS, 2001 - 2004
Attending Internist, Department of Internal Medicine, Keesler Medical Center, Keesler AFB, MS, 2000 - 2004
Other Professional Positions
Medical Oncologist/Hematologist, Millennium Oncology, The Woodlands, TX, 2014 - 2016
Extramural Institutional Committee Activities
Member-M&M, The University of Texas MD Anderson Clinical IOTOX Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2025 - Present
Member, PRS Faculty Compensation Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2023 - Present
Member, Medical Use Safety Team, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2021 - Present
Member, ATC Efficiency Committee, MD Anderson Cancer Center in The Woodlands, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2019 - Present
Member, Houston Area Location (HAL) Quality and Safety Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2019 - Present
Chair, Education Subcommittee, Cancer Committee, Christus St. John Hospital; Nassau Bay, TX, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2012 - 2013
Member, Physician Relations Faculty Advisory Board, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2011 - 2013
Cancer Liaison Physician to American College of Surgeons, Christus St. John Hospital; Nassau Bay, TX, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2011 - 2013
Member, ATC Efficiency Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2010 - Present
Secretary, Medical Executive Committee, Christus St. John Hospital; Nassau Bay, TX, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2010 - 2011
Member, Fellow Steering Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2009 - 2012
Honors & Awards
| 2024 | MDACC Patient Experience Award: Top 10% Provider, MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2022 | MDACC Patient Experience Award: Top 1% Provider, MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2006 | Chief Fellow, Medical Oncology/Hematology, MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2006 | Jesse H. Jones Fellowship in Cancer, MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2005 | Clifton D. Howe Award for Clinical Excellence, MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2005 | Waun Ki Hong/Sanofi-Aventis Award for Excellence in Thoracic Oncology, MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2004 | Meritorious Service Medal, United States Air Force |
| 2004 | General Archie Hoffman Award for Excellence in Academic Medicine, Society of Air Force Physician |
| 2003 | Air Force Commendation Medal, United States Air Force |
| 2000 - 2003 | Staff Teacher of the Year; Department of Internal Medicine, Keesler Medical Center; Keesler AFB, MS |
| 1999 - 2000 | Best Teaching Resident; Wilford Hall Medical Center, Lackland AFB, TX |
| 1998 | James J. Leonard Award for Excellence in Teaching Internal Medicine, Willford Hall Medical Center/Uniformed University of the Health Sciences |
| 1997 | James Felt Memorial Award for Highest Overall Performance During the Four Year Medical Curriculum, Mount Sinai School of Medicine |
| 1997 | Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society, Lambda Chapter, Mount Sinai School of Medicine |
Professional Memberships
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Tang, C, Seo, A, Sherry, AD, Yang, P, Kobayashi, K, Sircar, K, Genovese, G, Jonasch, E, Shah, AY, Zurita-Saavedra, A, Kovitz, CA, Campbell, M, Su, S, Yang, J, Ratzel, S, Acevedo, A, LaBella, ML, Battey, CJ, Steiner, C, Ascione, L, Liu, X, Hannan, R, Shapiro, DD, Choueiri, TK, Tannir, NM, Msaouel, P, Xu, W. KIM-1 and Circulating Tumor DNA Are Prognostic Markers for Oligometastatic Clear-cell Renal Cell Carcinoma. European urology 89(4):313-317, 2026. e-Pub 2026. PMID: 41765697.
- Hahn, AW, Chahoud, J, Skelton, WP, Yuan, Y, Zurita-Saavedra, AJ, Kovitz, CA, Alhalabi, O, Campbell, M, Jonasch, E, Lin, JK, Desai, M, Santos, MJ, Hwang, H, Corn, P, Msaouel, P, Tannir, NM. A multicenter randomized phase II trial of lenvatinib plus everolimus versus cabozantinib in patients with metastatic clear-cell RCC that progressed on PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibition (LenCabo)☆. Annals of Oncology 37(2):241-249, 2026. e-Pub 2026. PMID: 41115467.
- Sherry, AD, Siddiqui, BA, Haymaker, CL, Fellman, B, Medina-Rosales, M, Bathala, TK, Wang, S, Liu, S, Seo, A, Kobayashi, K, Lu, H, Troncoso, P, Chun, SG, Ha, CS, Mayo, LL, Mok, H, Park, RJ, Chapin, BF, Phillips, RM, Deek, MP, Kovitz, CA, Aparicio, A, Zurita-Saavedra, A, Pilie, PG, Cohen, L, Choi, S, Reuben, A, Tran, PT, Corn, P, Subudhi, SK, Tang, C. Continuous Androgen Deprivation Therapy with or Without Metastasis-directed Therapy for Oligometastatic Prostate Cancer. European urology 88(5):496-509, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 40750497.
- Tang, C, Sherry, AD, Seo, A, Kobayashi, K, Choi, H, Liu, S, Sun, X, Montoya, A, Ludmir, EB, Shah, AY, Jonasch, E, Zurita-Saavedra, A, Kovitz, CA, Alhalabi, O, Goswami, S, Hahn, AW, Campbell, M, Hernandez, A, Nead, KT, Van Loo, P, Su, S, Battey, CJ, LaBella, ML, Ratzel, S, Acevedo, A, Genovese, G, Sircar, K, Karam, JA, Tannir, NM, Msaouel, P. Metastasis-directed radiotherapy without systemic therapy for oligometastatic clear-cell renal-cell carcinoma. The lancet oncology 26(10):1289-1299, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 40915303.
- Varatharajalu, K, Shatila, M, Campbell, M, Kovitz, CA, DuPont, HL, Wang, Y. First-line treatment of fecal microbiota transplantation for immune-mediated colitis. Journal of Clinical Oncology 42(16):2660, 2024. e-Pub 2024.
- Haro-Silerio, JI, Johns, AC, Moussa, MJ, Wang, M, Wang, E, Kovitz, CA, Campbell, M, Jonasch, E, Shah, AY, Tannir, NM. Outcomes of patients (pts) with advanced renal cell carcinoma (aRCC) treated with cabozantinib (CABO) after lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab (LEN+PEM). Journal of Clinical Oncology 42(4), 2024. e-Pub 2024.
- Alhalabi, O, Wilson, NR, Xiao, L, Lin, Y, Khandelwal, J, Moussa, MJ, Msaouel, P, Navai, N, Gao, J, Kamat, A, Pilie, PG, Shah, AY, Goswami, S, Matin, S, Kovitz, CA, Holla, V, Guo, C, Czerniak, BA, Logothetis, CJ, Corn, P, Dinney, CP, Campbell, M, Hansel, DE, Tannir, NM, Siefker-Radtke, AO. Comparative Effectiveness Analysis of Treatment Strategies for Surgically Resectable Neuroendocrine Carcinoma of the Urinary Tract. European Urology Oncology 6(6):611-620, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37833193.
- Tang C, Sherry AD, Haymaker C, Bathala T, Liu S, Fellman B, Cohen L, Aparicio A, Zurita AJ, Reuben A, Marmonti E, Chun SG, Reddy JP, Ghia A, McGuire S, Efstathiou E, Wang J, Wang J, Pilie P, Kovitz C, Du W, Simiele SJ, Kumar R, Borghero Y, Shi Z, Chapin B, Gomez D, Wistuba I, Corn PG. Addition of Metastasis-Directed Therapy to Intermittent Hormone Therapy for Oligometastatic Prostate Cancer: The EXTEND Phase 2 Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Oncol 9(6):825-834, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37022702.
- Dao EA, George SJ, Heberton MM, Pacha O, Kovitz CA, Patel AB, Phillips RM. Erratum to "Periorbital Edema Associated with Alpelisib" [Cancer Treatment and Research Communications 32 (2022) 100596]. Cancer Treat Res Commun:100654. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 36463021.
- Dao EA, George SJ, Heberton MM, Pacha O, Kovitz CA, Patel AB, Phillips RM. Periorbital Edema Associated with Alpelisib. Cancer Treat Res Commun 32:100596, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35834907.
- Hughes CL, Yorio JT, Kovitz C, Oki Y. Treatment Decisions in a Man with Hodgkin Lymphoma and Guillian-Barré Syndrome: A case report. J Med Case Rep 8:455, 2014. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 25528252.
- Harting M, Tarrant W, Kovitz CA, Rosen T, Harting MT, Souchon E. Massive Nodular Melanoma: A case report. Dermatol Online J 13(2):7, 2007. e-Pub 2007. PMID: 17498426.
- Kovitz CA, Bickford D, Ornstein D, Ririe D, Shaughnessy P, Fischer J. Allogeneic Bone Marrow Transplantation at Wilford Hall U.S. Air Force Medical Center: 1987-1999. Mil Med 166(12):1049-53, 2001. e-Pub 2001. PMID: 11778401.
- Kovitz CA, Morgello S. Cerebral Glucose Transporter Expression in HIV Infection. Acta Neuropathol 94(2):140-5, 1997. e-Pub 1997. PMID: 9255388.
Review Articles
- Jain T, Bar M, Kansagra AJ, Chong EA, Hashmi SK, Neelapu SS, Byrne M, Jacoby E, Lazaryan A, Jacobson CA, Ansell SM, Awan FT, Burns L, Bachanova V, Bollard CM, Carpenter PA, DiPersio JF, Hamadani M, Heslop HE, Hill JA, Komanduri KV, Kovitz CA, Lazarus HM, Serrette JM, Mohty M, Miklos D, Nagler A, Pavletic SZ, Savani BN, Schuster SJ, Kharfan-Dabaja MA, Perales MA, Lin Y. Use of Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cell Therapy in Clinical Practice for Relapsed/Refractory Aggressive B Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma: An Expert Panel Opinion from the American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant 25(12):2305-2321, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31446199.
- Kovitz C, Kantarjian H, Garcia-Manero G, Abruzzo LV, Cortes J. Secondary Myelodysplastic Syndromes and Acute Leukemia Developing after Imatinib Mesylate Therapy for Chronic Myeloid Leukemia. Blood 108(8):2811-3, 2006. e-Pub 2006. PMID: 16809614.
Abstracts
- Tang C, Bathala T, Liu S, Fellman B, Aparicio A, Zurita-Saavedra A, Chun S, Reddy J, Le V, Choi S, Efstathiou E, Wang J, Tu S, Pilie P, Kovitz C, Kumar R, Chapin B, Gomez D, Corn G. Primary analysis of the prostate intermittent hormone basket from EXTEND (External beam radiation to Eliminate Nominal metastatic Disease). A randomized phase II basket trial assessing the efficacy of upfront local consolidative therapy for oligometastatic disease. American Society for Radiation Oncology, 2022. e-Pub 2022.
- Strassburg AD, Kovitz CA. Upper extremity deep venous thromboses at Keesler Medical Center: 1997-2000. J Miss State Med Assoc 43(4):114, 2002. e-Pub 2002. PMID: 11989197.
- Strassburg A, Kovtiz CA. A critical analysis of laboratory evaluations for hereditary thrombophilia at Keesler Medical Center. Society of Air Force Physicians Annual Meeting Bulletin, 2002. e-Pub 2002.
- Englund K, Kovtiz CA, Turner J. A case of Richter's transformation in chronic lymphcytic leukemia presenting as hypercalcemia and a mediastinal mass. Society of Air Force Physicians Annual Meeting Bulletin, 2002. e-Pub 2002.
- Baldwin S, Kovtiz CA. A critical analysis of the use of COX-2 inhibitors at Keesler Medical Center. Society of Air Force Physicians Annual Meeting Bulletin, 2002. e-Pub 2002.
Book Chapters
- Kovitz C, Spiess PE, Tannir NM. Testicular Cancer. In: Encyclopedia of Cancer. 2nd. Springer-Verlag, 3656-3660, 2008.
- Kovitz CA, Millikan R, Logothetis C. Testicular Cancer. In: The M.D. Anderson Manual of Medical Oncology. 6th. McGraw-Hill, Medical Pub, 2006.
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified July 22, 2026