Laleh Melstrom, M.D., M.S.

[email protected]
(877) 460-4673
Laleh Melstrom, M.D., M.S.
Surgical Oncologist
Clinical Expertise
  • Liver Cancer
  • Pancreas Cancer
  • Robotic Surgery
  • Metastatic Colon or Rectal Cancer to Liver
  • Hepatic Artery Infusion Pump
  • Cholangiocarcinoma
  • Neuroendocrine Tumors
  • Gallbladder Cancer
  • Sarcomas
Research Area
  • Metastatic CRC
  • Melanoma
  • Bile Duct Cancer
  • Liver Cancer
Academic Appointments
  • Chief, Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery
  • Associate Professor of Surgery and Immuno-Oncology
Clinical Teams
Bile Duct Cancer
Gallbladder Cancer
Liver Cancers and Liver Tumors
Pancreatic Cancer
Skin Cancer and Melanoma
Surgery
Surgery — Surgical Oncology
Research Teams
Cancer Immunotherapeutics Program (CCC)
Immuno-Oncology
Surgery Research
Gene Surgery
Additional Contacts
  • Referring Physicians/Colleagues
    (626) 218-0117

(Medicine is) far and away the most rewarding profession you can have.

A talented surgeon and award-winning instructor and researcher, Laleh G. Melstrom, M.D., M.S., joined City of Hope, attracted by the opportunity to help develop breakthrough cures and treatments.

“Really cutting-edge trials are offered here,” she says. “Research is not an afterthought.”

Educated at Johns Hopkins University, Dr. Melstrom received her medical degree at Cornell Medical College in New York City, continuing her training at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago and New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. She held professorships at both Cornell and Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, before arriving in California.

Dr. Melstrom is certified in robotic surgery and specializes in the treatment of cancers of the liver, pancreas, melanoma and sarcoma. She has published over 110 scholarly articles and is a sought-after speaker at national and international conferences.

Location

Education & Experience

Degrees

  • 2007, M.S., Clinical Investigation, Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL
  • 2003, M.D., Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY
  • 1999, BA (Biology), Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD

Fellowship

  • 2010–2012, Fellow, Surgical Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
  • 2005–2007, Research Fellow, Surgery-Pancreas Lab, Robert H Lurie Cancer Center of Northwestern Memorial Hospital

Residency

  • 2007–2010, Resident, General Surgery, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL

Internship

  • 2003–2005, Intern, General Surgery, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL

Professional Experience

  • 2021–present, Chief, Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, City of Hope, Duarte, CA
  • 2018–2021, Assistant Professor, Department of Immuno-Oncology, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, Duarte, CA
  • 2015–present, Assistant Professor, Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, City of Hope, Duarte, CA
  • 2015–2018, Assistant Professor, Department of Experimental Therapeutics, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, Duarte, CA
  • 2012–2015, Assistant Professor in Surgery, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, NJ
  • 2010–2012, Clinical Instructor in Surgery, Weill Cornell Medical College, NY

Awards & Memberships

Awards

  • 1997, Provost’s Award for Undergraduate Research
  • 1997, Maryland Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Outstanding Achievement Award, Varsity Tennis, Johns Hopkins University
  • 1998, Kilpatrick Prize in Chemistry
  • 2007, Edelstone-Bendix Basic Science Research Prize, Northwestern Department of Surgery
  • 2009, Northwestern University Alpha Omega Alpha
  • 2009, Chicago Surgical Society Annual Award for Surgical Research, First Prize
  • 2014, Rutgers Outstanding Attending Teaching Award, Department of Surgery

Memberships

  • 2004–present, Fellow, Member, American College of Surgeon
  • 2014–2017, Member, Society of Surgical Oncology, Training Committee
  • 2018 and 2019, Program Committee Member, Academic Surgical Congress
  • 2018 and 2019, Program Committee Member, SSAT for Hepatobiliary
  • 2018, Membership Committee Member, AHPBA
  • 2018, Association of Women Surgeons Coaching Project — Coach
  • 2018–present, Member, Alliance GI Committee
  • 2019–2021, Member, SSO Gastrointestinal Disease Site Workgroup
  • 2019–2021, Publications Committee Member, Association of Academic Surgeons

Publications

Complete list of published work in my bibliography

  • Tran, T., Razavi, M., Clark, K., Losclzo, M., Kruper, L., Raoof, M., Woo, Y., Trisal, V., Fong, Y., & Melstrom, L. Emotional Distress and Financial Toxicity in Younger Adults Undergoing Oncologic Surgery. Annals of Surgery. Jul 15 2022. PMID 35838403.
  • Nguyen, A., O’Leary, M., DeAndrade, J., Ituarte, P., Warner, S.G., Melstrom, L.G., Kessler, J., Fong, Y., Li, D., & Singh, G. Presentation and survival of gastro-entero-pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors in young adults versus older patients. American Journal of Surgery. 2022 May; 223(5): 939-44 PMID 34474917.
  • Malhotra, G.K., Tran, T., Stewart, C., Battey, H., Tegtmeier, B., McNeese, K., Flood, A., Melstrom, L., & Fong, Y. Pandemic Operating Room Supply Shortage and Surgical Site Infection: Considerations as We Emerge from the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic. Journal of the American College of Surgeons. Apr 1; 234(4):571-578.
  • O’Leary, M.P., Wang, C., Sandhu, J., Malhotra, G.K., Thornblade, L.W., Lau, S.C., Melstrom, L.G., Fong, Y., Singh, G., & Fakih, M.G. Salvage Regional Therapy using Hepatic Artery Infusion Pump in Unresectable Chemotherapy Resistant Colorectal Liver Metastases. American Journal of Surgery. 2022 Jun; 223(6): 1151-1156. PMID 34696847.
  • Tran, T.B., Wong, P., Raoof, M., Melstrom, K., Fong, Y., & Melstrom, L. The Evolving Gender Distribution in Authorship Over Time in American Surgery. American Journal of Surgery. 2022 May 25: S0002-9610 PMID 35718543.
  • Park, K.M., Rashidian, N., Mohamedaly, Brasel, K.J., Conroy, P., Glencer, A.C., He, J., Passeri, M.J., Katariya, N.N., Asleidi, A., & TrainHPB research group. Unifying the Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery Fellowship Curriculum via Delphi Consensus. Journal of the American College of Surgeons. 2021. Sep; 233(3): 395-414.
  • Tran, T.B., Raoof, M., Melstrom, L.G., Kyulo, N., Shaikh, Z., Jones, V.C., Erhunmwunsee, L., Fong, Y., & Warner, S.G. Racial and ethnic bias impact perceptions of surgeon communication. Annals of Surgery. 2021 Oct 1; 274(4):597-604. PMID 34506314.
  • Thornblade, L.W., Wong, P., Li, D., Warner, S.G., Raoof, M., Kessler, J., Amini, A., Lin, J., Chung, V., Singh, G., Fong, Y., & Melstrom, L.G. Patters of Whole Genome Sequencing and Actionable Mutations in Resected Cholangiocarcinoma. Cancers. 2021 Aug 12; 13(16): 4062 PMID 34439216.
  • Egelston, C.A., Avalos, C., Guo, W., Simons, D., Tan, J., Lim, M.H., Huang, Y., Nelson, M.S., Schmolze, D., Yim, J.H., Kruper, L., Melstrom, L., Margolin, K., Mortimer, J., Yuan, Y., Wiasman, H., & Lee, P.P. Single-cell derived CD8+ T cell exhaustion signature identifies poor outcome estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer patients. JCI Insight. 2022 Feb 8; 7(3): e153963. PMID 35132960.
  • Phan, T.X., Nguyen, V., Buettner, R., Morales, C., Yang, L., Wong, P., Tsai, W., d’Alincourt, M., Gil, Z., Diamond, D.J., Rabinowitz, J.D., Rosen, S., & Melstrom, L.G. Inhibition of de novo pyrimidine synthesis augments Gemcitabine induced growth inhibition in an immunocompetent model of pancreatic cancer. International Journal of Biological Sciences. 2021 Jun 1; 17(9):2240-2251. PMID 34239352.
  • Thornblade, L.W., Warner, S.G., Melstrom, L.G., Ituarte, P.H.G., Chang, S., Li, D., Fong, Y., & Singh, G. Does surgery provide a survival advantage in non-disseminated poorly differentiated gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms? Surgery. 2021. PMID 33637345.

Ratings & Reviews

Ratings and reviews below are gathered from the Press Ganey Clinician and Group Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CG CAHPS) survey. CG CAHPS is a standardized survey that is used to measure a patient's experience in the physician office setting. Ratings are an average of all responses to questions about a provider's care, with five stars being the highest.
4.9
Recommend this provider office
4.9
Provider explain in way you understand
4.9
Provider listen carefully to you
4.9
Know important info medical history
4.9
Show respect for what you say
4.9
Rate provider 0-10
4.8
Spend enough time with you
03/30/26
Great provider number one - Verified patient
03/29/26
Dr. Melstrom is not only an AMAZING professional but an AMAZING human being! - Verified patient
03/20/26
Everything very well thanks - Verified patient
03/20/26
All very Good thanks - Verified patient
03/12/26
Dr. Melstrom was amazing. She is very knowledgeable and explained everything very well. On top of this she has a very gentle manner. - Verified patient