Cristina M Checka, MD
Department of Breast Surgical Oncology, Division of Surgery
About Dr. Cristina M Checka
Dr. Checka studied Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Dartmouth College before earning her medical degree at Michigan State University. She completed her general surgery residency at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Virginia followed by a breast surgical oncology fellowship at New York University. She served as Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at New York University, where she co-founded a novel Women's Health Selective rotation for fourth year medical students, and led small group seminars for third year surgery clerkship students. At MD Anderson, she created a novel breast surgery elective for fourth-year UTMB medical students and is co-developing a novel educational app for new breast surgery. She has been recognized as Faculty Educator of the Year and was recently appointed Medical Director of PA Education. Nationally, she serves as Chair of the Advisory Committee for Young Women with Breast Cancer with the CDC. She serves as Innovation Officer for the Department of Breast Surgical Oncology and is a co-inventor of three apps and several novel surgical devices currently under development.
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Professor, Breast Surgical Oncology, Surgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
Associate Professor, Breast Surgical Oncology, Surgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
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 | Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, US, Allopathic Medicine, MD |
| 1997 | Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, US, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, BA |
Postgraduate Training
| 2008-2010 | Clinical Fellowship, Breast Surgical Oncology, New York University, New York, New York |
| 2003-2008 | Clinical Residency, General Surgery, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, Virginia |
Licenses & Certifications
| 2025 | DEA |
| 2013 | Texas Medical License |
| 2010 | American Board of Surgery |
| null | AHA Cardiac Life Support |
Experience & Service
Administrative Appointments/Responsibilities
Medical Director of Physician Assistant Education, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, 2023 - Present
Breast Surgical Oncology Innovation Officer, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, 2021 - Present
Chair, National Advisory Committee for Young Women with Breast Cancer, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia, 2020 - Present
Intramural Institutional Committee Activities
Innovation Officer, Breast Surgical Oncology Executive Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2021 - Present
Surgical faculty, Academic Review Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2019 - Present
HAL Surgeon, Protocol Research Integration & Strategic Management Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2015 - 2018
Surgical Representative, Faculty Committee, New York University, 2011 - 2013
Surgeon Expert, Cancer Committee, Bellevue Hospital, New York University, 2010 - 2013
Surgeon Expert, Breast Surgery LEAN Project, Bellevue, New York University, 2010 - 2013
Extramural Institutional Committee Activities
Surgeon Expert, National Breast Cancer Round Table, American Cancer Society, 2023 - Present
Peer Leader, Surgeon-Specific Registry Practice Improvement Initiative, American College of Surgeons, 2021 - Present
Breast surgeon, Alliance Health Outcomes Committee, Breast Alliance, 2018 - Present
Surgeon expert, Survivorship Care Plan Committee, New York State Department of Health, 2011 - 2013
Honors & Awards
| 2023 | Nominee for UT Kenneth Shine Academy, MD Anderson |
| 2023 | 3rd place, Divisions of Surgery and Diagnostic Imaging Innovation Challenge, MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2023 | Nominee, UT Regents Outstanding Teaching Award, MD Anderson |
| 2023 | Best Poster Award, Divisions of Surgery and Diagnostic Imaging Innovation Challenge, MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2023 | Scale Health Accelerator Award, Texas Venture Labs Investment Competition, University of Texas at Austin |
| 2023 | Texas Proof of Concept Award, Discovery to Impact, University of Texas at Austin |
| 2022 - 2023 | 1st place, E. Craig Nemec Elevator Pitch Challenge, Texas Venture Labs Investment Competition, University of Texas at Austin |
| 2022 | 2nd place, Texas Superstar Award, Texas Venture Labs Investment Competition, University of Texas at Austin |
| 2022 | E-Team Stage I and II Grants, VentureWell |
| 2022 | Texas A&M Health Prize, Texas A&M New Ventures Competition |
| 2022 | 1st place, Elevator Pitch Competition, Texas A&M New Ventures Competition |
| 2022 | Amerra Visualization Service Prize, Texas A&M New Ventures Competition |
| 2022 | Nominee, UT Regents Outstanding Teaching Award, University of Texas |
| 2022 | Institution-wide Faculty Educator of the Year, MD Anderson |
| 2021 | 1st Place, Life Sciences Category, Blackstone LaunchPad Ideas Competition, University of Texas at Austin |
| 2021 | Top 1% of Providers, Clinician and Group Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CGCAHPS) |
| 2021 | Commercialization Award, Texas Venture Labs Investment Competition, University of Texas at Austin |
| 2021 | 1st place, E. Craig Nemec Elevator Challenge, Texas Venture Labs Investment Competition, University of Texas at Austin |
| 2021 | 3rd place, Texas Rising Star Award, Texas Venture Labs, University of Texas at Austin |
| 2021 | Health Innovation Award, Texas Venture Labs Investment Competition, University of Texas at Austin |
| 2021 | Institution-wide Faculty Educator of the Quarter, MD Anderson |
| 2018 | Nominee, UT Kenneth Shine Academy, MD Anderson |
| 2009 | Minority Investigatory Travel Award, NSABP |
Professional Memberships
Selected Presentations & Talks
Local Presentations
- 2024. Treatment Implications of Genetic Testing Results on Breast Surgery. Invited. MD Anderson 7th Annual Hereditary Cancer Symposium for Health Care Providers. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2022. I Have an Idea. Now What?. Invited. MD Anderson Faculty Personal Financial Bootcamp. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2022. Needs-Based Approach to Surgical Device Innovation. Conference. Grand Rounds. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2021. Texas Biodesign Program, a Novel Cross-Industry UT-System Innovation Workshop. Conference. Grand Rounds. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2020. Medicolegal Considerations and Patient Engagement. Invited. 2nd World Consensus Conference on BIA-ALCL. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2020. Innovation Initiatives: Pathways and Progress. Conference. Grand Rounds. Houston, Texas, US.
National Presentations
- 2025. Building a Runway for Surgical Innovation. Visiting. LD Britt Surgical Society Department of Surgery Grand Rounds. Norfolk, VA, US.
- 2025. Lessons Learned in Surgical Innovation. Invited. University of Toledo Department of Surgery Grand Rounds. Toledo, Ohio, US.
- 2023. The Infection Detective: a Novel Microneedle Bandage. Invited. Equalize Female Faculty Entrepreneurship Pitch Competition, US.
- 2021. 3D Printing and Women’s Imaging: How when and why to incorporate 3D-printing in the management of breast cancer. Invited. Radiologic Society of North America, US.
International Presentations
- 2023. Axillary Management After Neoadjuvant Therapy. Invited. GECOPERU (Grupo de Estudios Clinicos Oncologicos Peruano), Lima, Peru. Lima, PE.
- 2021. Case Review and Take-Home Points for Difficult DCIS Cases. Invited. 4th Annual Cali Breast Meeting. Cali, CO.
- 2020. Medicolegal Considerations and Patient Engagement. Invited. 2nd World Consensus Conference on Breast Implant-Associated Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma, US.
- 2018. Surgical Management of Early-Stage Breast Cancer. Invited. Fourth Annual Simposium Internationacional de Actualizacion Oncologica. Guadalajara, MX.
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Alpard, SK, Hunt, KK, Tran, J, Checka, CM. Development of a Reproducible Framework and Pathway to Support Innovation in an Academic Surgical Department. Annals of surgical oncology 33(3):2363-2371, 2026. e-Pub 2026. PMID: 41276766.
- Smith, GL, Feldman, DB, Ma, HY, Checka, CM, Roth, M, Tucker, JC, Anderson, C, Xavier, M, Kagihara, J, Ludmir, EB, Wu, C, Paredes, E, Milbury, K, Corn, BW. Financial Toxicity, Hope, and Satisfaction With Life in Patients Receiving Ambulatory Cancer Care. JAMA Network Open 9(2), 2026. e-Pub 2026. PMID: 41642625.
- Hassan, AM, Ketheeswaran, S, Adesoye, T, Shah, SA, Cox, SE, Kapur, SK, Checka, CM, Offodile, AC. Association between patient–surgeon race and gender concordance and patient-reported outcomes following breast cancer surgery. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment 198(1):167-175, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 36622543.
- Carlson, KA, Checka, CM, Hunt, KK, Jung, J, Bridges, CA, Singh, P, Correa Refinetti, AP, Moseley, T, Perez, F, Mayo, C, Tamirisa, N. Evaluation of a Surgical Navigation System for Localization and Excision of Non-palpable Lesions in Breast and Axillary Surgery. Breast Journal 2023, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 38162957.
- Xu, C, Smith, GL, Chen, YS, Checka, CM, Giordano, SH, Kaiser, KW, Lowenstein, LM, Ma, HY, Mendoza, TR, Peterson, SK, Shih, YT, Shete, S, Tang, C, Volk, R, Gibbons, C. Short-form adaptive measure of financial toxicity from the Economic Strain and Resilience in Cancer (ENRICh) study. PloS one 17(8 August), 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 36006909.
- Guirguis MS, Checka C, Adrada BE, Whitman GJ, Dryden MJ, Sun J, Ding QQ, Le-Petross H, Rauch GM, Clemens M, Moseley TW. Bracketing with Multiple Radioactive Seeds to Achieve Negative Margins in Breast Conservation Surgery: Multiple Seeds in Breast Surgery. Clin Breast Cancer 22(2):e158-e166, 2022. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 34187752.
- Maldonado JA, Fu S, Chen YS, Acquati C, Yabroff KR, Banegas MP, Chang S, Conti RM, Checka CM, Peterson SK, Advani P, Ku K, Jagsi R, Giordano SH, Volk RJ, Shih YT, Smith GL. Sensitivity of Psychosocial Distress Screening to Identify Cancer Patients at Risk for Financial Hardship During Care Delivery. JCO Oncol Pract 17(12):OP2001009, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 34043452.
- Kadakia KT, Asaad M, Adlakha E, Overman MJ, Checka CM, Offodile AC. Virtual Clinical Trials in Oncology-Overview, Challenges, Policy Considerations, and Future Directions. JCO Clin Cancer Inform 5:421-425, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33830789.
- 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 123(5):1206-1214, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33577715.
- Asaad M, Boukovalas S, Chu CK, Lin YL, Checka CM, Clemens MW, Greenup RA, Offodile AC. Financial toxicity and contralateral prophylactic mastectomy: an analysis using propensity score methods. Breast Cancer Res Treat 183(3):649-659, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32691378.
- Fairchild B, Ellsworth W, Selber JC, Bogue DP, Zavlin D, Nemir S, Checka CM, Clemens MW. Safety and Efficacy of Smooth Surface Tissue Expander Breast Reconstruction. Aesthet Surg J 40(1):53-62, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 30107477.
- Park KU, Clemens MW, Lange CE, Bridges CA, Checka CM. Novel Use of Incisional Negative Pressure Wound Therapy for Management of High-risk Breast Incisions. Ann Surg 270(6):e73-e74, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 30702458.
- van la Parra RFD, Tadros AB, Checka CM, Rauch GM, Lucci A, Smith BD, Krishnamurthy S, Valero V, Yang WT, Kuerer HM. Baseline factors predicting a response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy with implications for non-surgical management of triple-negative breast cancer. Br J Surg 105(5):535-543, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29465744.
- Smith J, Dilawari A, Ursin G, Andreopoulou E, Checka C, Axelrod D, Guth A, Toth H, Utate M, Carapetyan K, Reich E, Diflo T, Muggia F. A pilot study of letrozole for one year in women at enhanced risk of developing breast cancer: effects on mammographic density. Anticancer Res 32(4):1327-31, 2012. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 22493366.
- Checka CM, Chun JE, Schnabel FR, Lee J, Toth H. The relationship of mammographic density and age: implications for breast cancer screening. AJR Am J Roentgenol 198(3):W292-5, 2012. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 22358028.
- Smith GL, MD, PhD, MPH, Feldman DB, PhD, Ma H, MD, Checka C, MD, Roth M, MD, Tucker JC, MD, Anderson C, MD, Xavier M, MD, Kagihara J, MD, Ludmir EB, MD, Wu C, PhD, Paredes E, MBA, Milbury K, PhD, Corn BW, MD. Financial Toxicity and Satisfaction with Life: A Multi-Site Study of the Mediating Effects of Hopefulness and Social Support. JAMA Oncol.
Professional Educational Materials
- Checka CM. Handbook for UTMB MS-IV breast surgical oncology elective students rotating at MD Anderson League City.
- Checka CM. Handbook for SCOPE (Student Continuity of Practice Experience) UTMB students, MS-II (radiation oncology), MS-I (medical oncology) and MS-III (breast surgical oncology) including background information, reading topics, resources, and writing prompts for essays.
- Checka CM. Outpatient Internal Medicine Handbook for UTMB MS-III core clerkship students rotating in outpatient hematology and oncology at MD Anderson League City, 2017.
- Holmes H, Jiang J, Bridges C, Dunlap B, Lock A, Bayer A, Alpard S, Tran J, Checka CM. mEdison Onboarding App for BSO APPs.
- Checka CM. Breast Surgery Handbook NYU students, residents and fellows rotating at Bellevue Hospital Center.
Abstracts
- Adams S, Hochman T, Huppert N, Dhage S, Checka C, Singh B, Speyer J, Schneider R, Goldberg J, Formenti S. High Pathological Response Rate in Her2-Positive Locally-Advanced Breast Cancers Treated with Neoadjuvant Trastuzumab and Concurrent Paclitaxel/Radiotherapy. Poster Presentation, American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting, Chicago IL,, 2012. e-Pub 2012.
- Refinetti A, Checka C, Siegel B, Hernandez O, Zamuco R, Guth A. . Vascular Lesions of the Breast Not Associated with Radiation Therapy. Poster Presentation, American Society of Breast Disease, Dallas TX, 2012. e-Pub 2012.
- Checka C, Lamparello A, Adams A, Carelli A, Glass N, Joseph K. Newly-Diagnosed Breast Cancer Patients and the Need for a Primary Care Physician at an Urban Public Hospital. Poster Presentation, American Society of Breast Surgeons Annual Meeting, Phoenix AZ,, 2012. e-Pub 2012.
- Checka C, Dhage S, Adams S, Samii E, Shah T, Shaylor S, Joseph K. The Impact of Screening in Breast Cancer Patients Aged 40-49 Years at an Urban City Hospital. Poster Presentation, American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting, Chicago IL,, 2011. e-Pub 2011.
- Pysarenko K, Checka C, Cangiarella J, Guth A, Moy L, Toth H, Mercado C. Can MRI Predict Additional Foci of Disease and Nodal Metastasis in Triple-Receptor Negative Breast Cancer?. AJR Am J Roentgenol 196(5):Supplement A17-A20, 2011. e-Pub 2011.
- Schnabel F, Chun J, Axelrod D, Cimeno A, Billig J, Checka C, Guth A. The Integration of the IBTR! Prediction Tool into Surgical Decision-Making. Poster Presentation, American Society of Breast Surgeons Annual Meeting, Washington DC,, 2011. e-Pub 2011.
- Checka C, Chun J, Schnabel F, Guth A, Axelrod D, Roses D. The Incidence of Mammographically-Occult Breast Cancer in Women Older than Seventy Years. Cancer Research 70(24):Supplement 2, 2010. e-Pub 2010.
- Checka C, Speyer J, Formenti S, Levine J, Connolly E, Levine P, Berman R, Axelrod A. Pathologic Complete Response of a Locally-Advanced Metaplastic Breast Cancer: A Case Report of a Novel Approach Using Neoadjuvant Weekly Paclitaxel and Concurrent Radiation. Poster Presentation,, 2010. e-Pub 2010.
- Checka C, Bright K, Chun J, Toth H, Guth A. Cultural Perceptions for Chaperone Use During Breast Examinations. Poster Presentation, 32nd Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium,, 2009. e-Pub 2009.
- Checka C, Chun J, Schnabel F, Darvishian F, Lee J, Bergknoff Y, Axelrod D, Siegel B, Roses D. Mammographic Density and Lobular Involution in Older Women with Abnormal Breast Imaging. Cancer Research: 69(24):Supplement 3, 2009. e-Pub 2009.
- Checka C, Chun J, Moy L, Schnabel F. Benign Breast Biopsies Prompted by MRI in Newly-Diagnosed Patients. Poster Presentation, 2009 ASCO Breast Cancer Symposium, San Francisco CA, 2009. e-Pub 2009.
- Checka C, Chun J, Lee J, Pitti A, Schnabel F. The Relationship Between Mammograhpic Density and Age: Implications for Screening. Poster Presentation, American Society of Breast Surgeons 10th Annual Meeting, San Diego CA, 2009. e-Pub 2009.
- Checka C, Mercado M, Cangiarella J, Guth A. Not All Triple-Negative Breast Cancers are Created Equal. Oral presentation, New York Surgical Society, Joint Scientific Session with the Philadelphia Academy of Surgery, 2009. e-Pub 2009.
- Checka CM. The development of a novel digital health tool to standardize breast surgical oncology physician assistant and nurse practitioner onboarding: mEdison. MD Anderson Global Academic Program Symposium.
- Checka CM. Utilization of Online Resources to Facilitate Virtual Collaboration and Development of an Educational Breast Surgical Oncology App: mEdison. American Society of Breast Surgeons.
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified August 24, 2026