Christopher Alvarez-Breckenridge, MD, PhD, BS, BA
Department of Neurosurgery, Division of Surgery
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Assistant Professor, Department of Neurosurgery, Division of Surgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Dual/Joint/Adjunct Appointment
Faculty Member, MD Anderson Cancer Center Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, TX
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2013 | The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA, MD, Medical Scientist Training Program |
| 2005 | The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA, BS, Biology |
| 2005 | The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA, BA, Classics |
Postgraduate Training
| 2020-2021 | Clinical Fellowship, Neurosurgical Oncology, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX |
| 2013-2020 | Clinical Residency, Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA |
Board Certifications
| 2017 | American Board of Neurological Surgery Primary Exam |
| 2014 | USMLE, Part 3 |
| 2012 | USMLE, Part 2 |
| 2007 | USMLE, Part 1 |
Honors & Awards
| 2022 | Cancer Center Support Grant New Faculty Award, MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2022 | Physician-Scientist Program, MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2021 | Future Directions in Neuro-Oncology-First Place, Society of Neuro-Oncology |
| 2021 | CNS Metastases Award, Society of Neuro-Oncology Annual Meeting |
| 2020 | The Oncologist Young Investigator Award, Honorable Mention |
| 2019 | Journal of Neuro-Oncology Award, American Association of Neurological Surgeons |
| 2018 | Neurosurgery Research Award, Massachusetts General Hospital |
| 2013 | Medical Scientist Training Program Award, The Ohio State University College of Medicine |
| 2013 | Leadership and Academic Achievement Scholarship, The Ohio State University College of Medicine |
| 2012 | Academic Achievement Scholarship, The Ohio State University College of Medicine |
| 2012 | Landacre Honor Society Inductee, The Ohio State University College of Medicine |
| 2011 | 6th International Meeting on Replicating Oncolytic Virus Therapeutics Travel Award |
| 2010 | Minority Scholar in Cancer Research Award, American Association for Cancer Research |
| 2010 | Comprehensive Cancer Center Research Day-Poster Session Winner, The Ohio State University College of Medicine |
| 2009 | Neuroscience Research Day-Poster Session Winner, The Ohio State University College of Medicine |
| 2009 | American Physician Scientists Association Travel Award, ASCI/AAP Joint Meeting |
| 2009 | Travel Award, OSU Medical Scientist Training Program |
| 2007 | University Fellowship Award, The Ohio State University College of Medicine |
| 2005 | Ohio State University Leadership Awards, The Ohio State University |
| 2004 | Thomas J. Bardos Undergraduate Education Award, American Association for Cancer Research |
| 2004 | Board of Trustees Student Recognition Award, The Ohio State University |
| 2003 | Barry M. Goldwater Scholar, The Ohio State University |
| 2001 | Office of Minority Affairs Distinguished Merit Scholarship |
| 2001 | Early Admission Pathway Program, The Ohio State University Medical School |
| 2001 | Admission to the Ohio State University Medical School, Early Admission Pathway Program |
| 2000 | National Hispanic Scholar Distinguished Merit Scholarship |
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Mikula AL, Pennington Z, Lakomkin N, Prablek M, Amini B, Karim SM, Patel SS, Lubelski D, Sciubba DM, Alvarez-Breckenridge C, North RY, Tatsui CE, Bydon M, Fogelson JL, Elder BD, Krauss WE, Bird JE, Rose PS, Clarke MJ, Rhines LD. Risk factors for sacral fracture following en bloc chordoma resection. J Neurosurg Spine 39(5):611-617, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37060308.
- Wu X, Alvarez-Breckenridge C. Moving the Pendulum for Glioblastoma Treatment: One Injection at a Time. Oncologist 28(8):651-653, 2023. PMID: 37130338.
- Alvarez-Breckenridge C, de Almeida R, Haider A, Muir M, Bird J, North R, Rhines L, Tatsui C.. Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polyetheretherketone Spinal Implants for Treatment of Spinal Tumors: Perceived Advantages and Limitations, 2023. e-Pub 2023.
- Bahouth SM, Yeboa DN, Ghia AJ, Tatsui CE, Alvarez-Breckenridge CA, Beckham TH, Bishop AJ, Li J, McAleer MF, North RY, Rhines LD, Swanson TA, Chenyang W, Amini B. Advances in the management of spinal metastases: what the radiologist needs to know. Br J Radiol 96(1141):20220267, 2023. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35946551.
- Fomchenko EI, Bayley JC, Alvarez-Breckenridge C, Rhines LD, Tatsui CE.. Metastases and the Evolving Role of Molecular Targeted Therapy, Chemotherapy, and Immunotherapy, 2022. PMID: 19(4):978-993.
- Bishop AJ, Amini B, Lin H, Raza SM, Patel S, Grosshans DR, Ghia A, Farooqi A, Guadagnolo BA, Mitra D, Akdemir KC, Lazar AJ, Wang WL, Alvarez-Breckenridge C, Bird J, Rhines LD, Somaiah N, Conley AP. Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors Have Clinical Activity in Patients With Recurrent Chordoma. J Immunother 45(8):374-378, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35943386.
- Alvarez-Breckenridge C, Markson SC, Stocking JH, Nayyar N, Lastrapes M, Strickland MR, Kim AE, de Sauvage M, Dahal A, Larson JM, Mora JL, Navia AW, Klein RH, Kuter BM, Gill CM, Bertalan M, Shaw B, Kaplan A, Subramanian M, Jain A, Kumar S, Danish H, White M, Shahid O, Pauken KE, Miller BC, Frederick DT, Hebert C, Shaw M, Martinez-Lage M, Frosch M, Wang N, Gerstner E, Nahed BV, Curry WT, Carter B, Cahill DP, Boland GM, Izar B, Davies MA, Sharpe AH, Suvà ML, Sullivan RJ, Brastianos PK, Carter SL. Microenvironmental Landscape of Human Melanoma Brain Metastases in Response to Immune Checkpoint Inhibition. Cancer Immunol Res 10(8):996-1012, 2022. PMID: 35706413.
- Alvarez-Breckenridge CA*; Markson S*, Stocking J, Nayyar N, Lastrapes M, Strickland MR, Kim AE, Sauvage Md, Dahal A, Larson JM, Mora JL, Navia AW, Kuter BM, Gill CM, Bertalan MS, Shaw B, Kaplan A, Subramanian M, Jain A, Kumar S, White M, Shahid O, Pauken KE, Miller BC, Izar B, Davies M, Frederick DT, Boland GM, Herbert C, Shaw M, Martinez-Lage M, Frosch MP, Wang N, Gerstner ER, Nahed BV, Curry WT, Carter BS, Cahill DP, Sharpe A, Suvà ML, Sullivan RJ, Brastianos PK, Carter SL. Microenvironmental correlates of immune checkpoint inhibitor response in human melanoma brain metastases revealed by T cell receptor and single-cell RNA sequencing. Cancer Immunology Research canimm.CIR-21-0870-E.2021. doi: 10.1158/2326-6066.CIR-21-0870. 6/2022, 2022.
- Strickland MR, Alvarez-Breckenridge CA, Gainor J, Brastianos P. Tumor Microenvironment of Brain Metastases: Towards Unlocking Anti-Tumor Immunity. Cancer Discovery 2; 12(5):1199-1216. doi: 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-21-0976, 2022.
- Prakadan SM*, Alvarez-Breckenridge CA*, Markson SC*, Kim AE, Klein RH, Nayyar N, Navia AW, Kuter BM, Kolb KE, Bihun I, Mora JL, Bertalan MS, Shaw B, White M, Kaplan A, Stocking JH, Wadsworth MH, Lee EQ, Chukwueke U, Wang N, Subramanian M, Rotem D, Cahill DP, Adalsteinsson VA, Miller JW, Sullivan RJ, Carter SL, Brastianos PK, Shalek AK *Authors contributed equally.. Genomic and transcriptomic correlates of immunotherapy response within the tumor microenvironment of leptomeningeal metastases. Nat Commun 12(1):5955, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 34642316.
- White M, Klein R, Shaw B, Kim A, Subramanian M, Mora J, Giobbie-Hurder A, Nagabhushan D, Jain A, Singh M, Kuter B, Nayyar N, Bertalan M, Stocking J, Markson S, Lastrapes M, Alvarez-Breckenridge CA, Cahill D, Gydush G, Rhoades J, Rotem D, Adalsteinsson V, Mahar M, Kaplan A, Oh K, Sullivan R, Gerstner E, Carter S, Brastianos P.. Sensitive Detection of Leptomeningeal Disease using Cell-Free DNA from Cerebrospinal Fluid. JAMA Netw, Open 4(8), 2021.
- Alvarez-Breckenridge CA, Muir M, Rhines L, Tatsui CE Authors contributed equally. The Use of Skin Staples as Fiducial Markers to Confirm Intraoperative Spinal Navigation Registration and Accuracy. Operative Neurosurgery:opab132, 2021.
- Liu D, Lin JR, Robitschek EJ, Kasumova GG, Heyde A, Shi A, Kraya A, Zhang G, Moll T, Frederick DT, Chen YA, Wang S, Schapiro D, Ho LL, Bi K, Sahu A, Mei S, Miao B, Sharova T, Alvarez-Breckenridge CA, Stocking JH, Kim T, Fadden R, Lawrence D, Hoang MP, Cahill DP, Malehmir M, Nowak MA, Brastianos PK, Lian CG, Ruppin E, Izar B, Herlyn M, Van Allen EM, Nathanson K, Flaherty KT, Sullivan RJ, Kellis M, Sorger PK, Boland GM.. Evolution of delayed resistance to immunotherapy in a melanoma responder. Nature Medicine. e-Pub 2021.
- Passer JZ*, Alvarez-Breckenridge CA,* Rhines L, DeMonte F, Tatsui C, Raza SM * Authors contributed equally. Surgical Management of Skull Base and Spine Chordomas. Curr Treat Options Oncol 22(5):40, 2021.
- Starkweather CK, Choi BD, Alvarez-Breckenridge CA, Brastianos PK, Oh K, Wang N, Shih H, Nahed BV. Initial Approach to the Patient with Multiple Newly Diagnosed Brain Metastases. Neurosurg Clin N Am 31(4):505-513, 2020.
- Fatima N, Massaad E, Alvarez-Breckenridge CA, Berry Candelario JE, Hadzipasic M, Shankar GM, Shin JH.. Does Obesity Correlate with Postoperative Complications After Elective Posterior Cervical Spine Fusion?. World Neurosurgery 141:E231-E238, 2020.
- Brastianos PK, Lee EQ, Cohen JV, Tolaney SM, Lin NU, Wang N, Chukwueke U, White MD, Alvarez-Breckenridge CA, Krop I, Keeley M, Bertalan M, Shaw B, Goss N, Subramanian M, Nayak L, Dietrich J, Forst D, Nahed BV, Batchelor TT, Shih HA, Gerstner ER, Moy B, Lawrence D, Giobbie-Hurder A, Carter SL, Oh K, Cahill DP, Sullivan RJ.. Single-arm, open-label phase 2 trial of pembrolizumab in patients with leptomeningeal carcinomatosis. Nature Medicine 26(8):1280-1284, 2020.
- Massaad E, Hadzipasic M, Alvarez-Breckenridge CA, Kiapour A, Fatima N, Schwab JH, Saylor P, Oh K, Schoenfeld AJ, Shankar GM, Shin JH.. Predicting tumor-specific survival in patients with spinal metastatic renal cell carcinoma: which scoring system is most accurate?. J Neurosurg Spine 5:1-11, 2020.
- Shih DJH, Nayyar N, Bihun I, Dagogo-Jack I, Gill CM, Aquilanti E, Bertalan M, Kaplan A, D'Andrea MR, Chukwueke U, Ippen FM, Alvarez-Breckenridge CA, Camarda ND, Lastrapes M, McCabe D, Kuter B, Kaufman B, Strickland MR, Martinez-Gutierrez JC, Nagabhushan D, De Sauvage M, White MD, Castro BA, Hoang K, Kaneb A, Batchelor ED, Paek SH, Park SH, Martinez-Lage M, Berghoff AS, Merrill P, Gerstner ER, Batchelor TT, Frosch MP, Frazier RP, Borger DR, Iafrate AJ, Johnson BE, Santagata S, Preusser M, Cahill DP, Carter SL, Brastianos PK.. Genomic characterization of human brain metastases identifies drivers of metastatic lung adenocarcinoma. Nature Genetics 52(4):371-377, 2020.
- Massaad E, Fatima N, Hadzipasic M, Alvarez-Breckenridge CA, Shankar G, Shin JH.. Predictive Analytics in Spine Oncology Research: First Steps, Limitations, and Future Directions. Neurospine 16(4):669-677, 2019.
- Alvarez-Breckenridge CA, Nahed BV.. In Reply: Congress of Neurological Surgeons Systematic Review and Evidence-Based Practice Guidelines on the Role of Surgery in the Management of Adults With Metastatic Brain Tumors. Neurosurgery 85(3):E618, 2019.
- Ippen FM, Alvarez-Breckenridge CA, Kuter B, Fink AL, Bihun IV, Penson T, Schmidt SP, Wojtkiewicz GR, Ning J, Martinez-Lage M, Cahill DP, Wakimoto H, Brastianos PK.. The Dual PI3K/mTOR Pathway Inhibitor GDC-0084 Achieves Antitumor Activity in PIK3CA-Mutant Breast Cancer Brain Metastases. Clin Cancer Res 25(11):3374-3383, 2019.
- Alvarez-Breckenridge CA, Giobbie-Hurder A, Gill CM, Bertalan M, Nayyar N, Lawrence DP, Flaherty KT, Shih HA, Oh K, Batchelor TT, Cahill DP, Sullivan R, Brastianos PK.. Upfront Surgical Resection of Melanoma Brain Metastases Provides a Bridge Toward Immunotherapy-Mediated Systemic Control. Oncologist 24(5):671-679, 2019.
- Nahed BV*, Alvarez-Breckenridge CA*, Brastianos PK, Shih H, Sloan A, Ammirati M, Kuo J, Ryken TC, Kalkanis SN, Olson JJ. Congress of Neurological Surgeons Systematic Review and Evidence-Based Guidelines on the Role of Surgery in the Management of Adults With Metastatic Brain Tumors. Neurosurgery 84(3):E152-E155, 2019.
- Bolyard CM, Meisen WH, Banasavadi-Siddegowda Y, Hardcastle J, Yoo JY, Wohleb ES, Wojton J, Yu JG, Dubin S, Khosla M, Xu B, Smith JG, Alvarez-Breckenridge CA, Pow-Anpongkul P, Pichiorri F, Zhang J, Old M, Zhu D, Van Meir EG, Godbout J, Caligiuri MA, Yu J, Kaur B.. BAI1 orchestrates macrophage inflammatory response to HSV infection—implications for oncolytic viral therapy. Clin Cancer Res 23(7):1809-1819, 2017.
- Alvarez-Breckenridge CA, Miller JJ, Nayyar N, Gill CM, Kaneb A, D’Andrea M, Le LP, Lee J, Cheng J, Zheng Z, Butler WE, Multani P, Maneval EC, Paek SH, Toyota BD, Dias-Santagata D, Santagata S, Romero J, Shaw AT, Farago AF, Yip S, Cahill DP, Batchelor TT, Iafrate AJ, Brastianos PK.. Clinical and radiographic response following targeting of BCAN-NTRK1 fusion in glioneuronal tumor. Nature Precision Oncology 1(1):5, 2017.
- Alvarez-Breckenridge CA, Brastianos P.. SMO mutant olfactory groove meningiomas-the next in line for targeted therapy. Neuro Oncology 19(3):305-306, 2017.
- Alvarez-Breckenridge CA, Attiah MA, Zachariah M, Gummadavelli A, Yang J, Codd PJ.. Ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement for POEMS syndrome. J Clin Neuroscience 22(10):1672-1674, 2015.
- Suryadevara CM, Gedeon PC, Sanchez-Perez L, Verla T, Alvarez-Breckenridge CA, Choi BD, Fecci PE, Sampson JH.. Are BiTEs the "missing link" in cancer therapy?. Oncoimmunology 4(6):E1008339, 2015.
- Alvarez-Breckenridge CA, Choi BD, Suryadevara CM, Chiocca EA.. Potentiating oncolytic viral therapy through an understanding of the initial immune responses to oncolytic viral infection. Oncoimmunology 4((6) E1008339), 2015.
- Han J, Alvarez-Breckenridge CA, Wang QE, Yu J.. TGF-β signaling and its targeting for glioma treatment. Am J Cancer Res 5(3):945-955, 2015.
- Price RL, Song J, Bingmer K, Kim TH, Yi JY, Nowicki MO, Mo X, Hollon T, Murnan E, Alvarez-Breckenridge CA, Fernandez S, Kaur B, Rivera A, Oglesbee M, Cook C, Chiocca EA, Kwon CH.. Cytomegalovirus contributes to glioblastoma in the context of tumor suppressor mutations. Cancer Research 73(11):3441-3450, 2013.
- He S, Chu J, Wu LC, Mao H, Peng Y, Alvarez-Breckenridge CA, Hughes T, Wei M, Zhang J, Yuan S, Sandhu S, Vasu S, Benson DM Jr, Hofmeister CC, He X, Ghoshal K, Devine SM, Caligiuri MA, Yu J.. MicroRNAs activate natural killer cells through Toll-like receptor signaling. Blood 121(23):4663-4671, 2013.
- Alvarez-Breckenridge CA, Yu J, Caligiuri M, Chiocca EA. Uncovering a novel mechanism whereby NK cells interfere with glioblastoma virotherapy. Oncoimmunology 2(4):E23658, 2013.
- Alvarez-Breckenridge CA, Yu J, Price R, Pradarelli J, Mao H, Wei M, Wang Y, Nowicki MO, Hardcastle J, Wojton J, Fernandez S, Kaur B, Lawler S, Mandelboim O, Vivier E, Moretta A, Caligiuri M, Chiocca EA.. NK cells impede glioblastoma virotherapy through NKp30 and NKp46 natural cytotoxicity receptors. Nature Medicine 18(12):1827-1834, 2012.
- Yoo JY, Pradarelli J, Hasely A, Wojton J, Kaka A, Bratasz A, Alvarez-Breckenridge CA, Yu JG, Powell K, Mazar AP, Teknos TN, Old M, Glorioso JC, Chiocca EA, Kaur B.. Copper chelation enhances anti-tumor efficacy and systemic delivery of oncolytic HSV. Clinical Cancer Research 18(18):4931-4941, 2012.
- Alvarez-Breckenridge CA, Yu J, Price R, Wei M, Wang Y, Nowicki MO, Ha YP, Bergin S, Hwang C, Fernandez SA, Kaur B, Caligiuri MA, Chiocca EA.. The histone deacetylase inhibitor valproic acid lessens NK cell action against oncolytic virus-infected glioblastoma cells by inhibition of STAT5/T-BET signaling and generation of gamma interferon. Recognized as Journal of Virology Spotlight Feature 86(8):4566-4577, 2012.
- Alvarez-Breckenridge CA, Yu J, Kaur B, Caligiuri MA, Chiocca EA. Deciphering the Multifaceted Relationship between Oncolytic Viruses and Natural Killer Cells. Adv Virol 2012:702839, 2012. e-Pub 2011. PMID: 22312364.
- Alvarez-Breckenridge CA, Chiocca EA.. A viral strategy to ambush tumors. Nature Medicine 17(7):784-785, 2011.
- Yu J, Mitsui T, Wei M, Mao H, Butchar JP, Shah MV, Zhang J, Mishra A, Alvarez-Breckenridge CA, Liu X, Liu S, Yokohama A, Trotta R, Marcucci G, Benson DM Jr, Loughran TP Jr, Tridandapani S, Caligiuri MA.. NKp46 identifies an NKT cell subset susceptible to leukemic transformation in mouse and human. J Clin Invest 121(4):1456-1470, 2011.
- Alvarez-Breckenridge C.. Making the Best Use of Student Trustees. Trusteeship 18(4):28-32, 2010.
- Alvarez-Breckenridge C, Kaur B, Chiocca EA.. Pharmacologic and chemical adjuvants in tumor virotherapy. Chem Rev 09(7):3125-3140, 2009.
- Haseley A, Alvarez-Breckenridge C, Chaudhury AR, Kaur B.. Advances in oncolytic virus therapy for glioma. Recent Pat CNS Drug Discov 4(1):1-13, 2009.
- Alvarez-Breckenridge C, Waite KA, Eng C.. PTEN Regulates Phospholipase D and Phospholipase C. Hum Mol Genet 16(10):1157-1163, 2007.
Book Chapters
- Alvarez-Breckenridge CA, LoPresti M, Tatsui C.. Updates on laser interstitial therapy for metastatic tumors of the spine. In: Image-Guided Hypofractionated Stereotactic Radiosurgery, 2nd edition, 2021.
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified February 23, 2024