Percy Lee, M.D.
For radiation oncologist Percy Lee, M.D., patients’ needs come first. He works closely with experts from other disciplines to offer each person an individually tailored treatment plan based upon both their clinical history and their emotional and social needs. An active listener, he aims to understand what is truly on a patient’s mind.
Dr. Lee went to Harvard Medical School, where he graduated magna cum laude from the research-oriented Health Sciences and Technology program, an inter-institutional collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He continued as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute research fellow, studying the process by which tumors prompt the growth of new blood vessels in order to feed and spread. Dr. Lee then completed an internal medicine internship at the Massachusetts General Hospital and a residency in radiation oncology at Stanford University, where he served as chief resident in his final year.
As a physician, he finds satisfaction in his oncologic specialization, which enables him to eradicate cancer and reduce suffering in patients facing tumors of the lung and gastrointestinal tract. Dr. Lee is delighted to increase City of Hope's reach and help establish its radiation oncology research network in his role as medical director of Orange County and coastal region radiation oncology and vice chair for clinical research in the Department of Radiation Oncology.
Dr. Lee joined City of Hope from MD Anderson Cancer Center, where he was executive section chief in radiation oncology and section chief of thoracic radiation oncology. As executive section chief, he worked alongside the division head and other section chiefs to align and execute the clinical and research priorities of the department of radiation oncology. As thoracic section chief, he partnered with other leaders to improve access to multidisciplinary care and clinical trials for patients through the thoracic service line efforts. Before that, he was chief of UCLA’s services in thoracic radiation oncology and gastrointestinal radiation oncology as well as vice chair of education and residency program director. There, Dr. Lee initiated leading-edge programs in stereotactic body radiation therapy, which uses high doses to precisely treat tumors, and MRI-guided radiation therapy, which employs advanced imaging technology to accurately identify the specific area where treatment should be focused.
With a number of family members who received treatment at City of Hope, Dr. Lee always aspired to work for this type of institution, with its mission to care for cancer patients in his own Southern California community. Fluent in Mandarin, he likes to spend his free time with his wife, son, and daughter, as well as watching basketball and occasionally playing a game or two with friends.
2004-present, Medical Board of California
2019-2023, Texas Medical Board
2009-present, American Board of Radiology
1998-2003, M.D., Division of Health Science and Technology, Harvard Medical School – Boston, MA
1994-1998, B.S., Biomedical Engineering, John Hopkins University – Baltimore, MD
2004-2008, Radiation Oncology, Stanford University School of Medicine – Stanford, CA
2003-2004, Internal Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital -- Boston, MA
2019-2022, Professor of Radiation Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
2019, Professor of Radiation Oncology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
2014-2019, Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
2009-2014, Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
2008-2009, Visiting Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
2022, Top Doctors 2022, Castel Connolly
2021, Top Doctors 2021, Castel Connolly
2021, Super Doctors, Texas
2020, Top Doctors 2020, Castle Connolly
2020, Super Doctors 2020, Texas
2019, Top Doctors 2019, Castle Connolly
2019, Super Doctors 2019, Southern California
2019, Los Angeles Top Docs 2019, Los Angeles Magazine
2019, Best Doctors in America
2018, Super Doctors 2018, Southern California
2018, Best Doctors in America
2017, Top Cancer Specialists 2017, Castle Connolly
2017, Super Doctors 2017, Southern California
2017, Best Doctors in America
2016, Super Doctors 2016, Southern California Rising Stars
2016, Best Doctors in America
2015, Best Doctors in America
2014, Super Doctors 2014, Southern California Rising Stars
2014, Best Doctors in America
2013, Super Doctors 2013, Southern California Rising Stars
2013, Best Doctors in America
2012, America's Top Oncologists 2012
1998, Richard J. Johns Award for Outstanding Achievement in Biomedical Engineering
2019-present, Radiosurgery Society
2019-present, Global Society of Medical Innovation and Development
2017-present, American Radium Society
2008-present, Radiation Research Society
2006-present, American College of Radiation Oncology
2004-present, Radiological Society of North America
2004-present, Association of Residents in Radiation Oncology
2004-present, American Society of Clinical Oncology
2004-present, American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology
2004-present, American College of Radiology
- Formenti, S.C., Lee, P., Adams, S., Goldberg, J.D., Li, X., Xie, M., Ratikan, J., Felix, C., Hwang, L., Faull, K., Sayre, J.W., Hurvitz, S., Glaspy, J., Comin-Anduix, B., Demaria, S., Shaue, D., McBride, W.H. Focal Irradiation and Systemic Transforming Growth Factor β Blockade in Metastatic Breast Cancer. Clin Cancer Res Jun 1;24(11):2493-2504, 2018.
- Sandler, K.A., Abtin, F., Suh, R., Cook, R.R., Felix, C., Lee, J.M., Garon, E.B., Wu, F., Luterstein, E.M., Agazaryan, N., Tenn, S.E., Lee, C., Steinberg, M.L., Lee, P. A Prospective Phase II Study Evaluating Safety and Efficacy of Combining Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy with Heat-based Ablation for Centrally Located Lung Tumors. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys Jul 1;101(3):564-573, 2018.
- Tyran, M., Jiang, N., Cao, M., Raldow, A., Lamb, J.M., Low, D., Luterstein, E., Steinberg, M.L., Lee, P. Retrospective Evaluation of Decision-Making for Pancreatic Stereotactic MR-guided Adaptive Radiotherapy. Radiother Oncol Nov;129(2):319-325, 2018.
- Rudra, S., Jiang, N., Rosenberg, S.A., Olsen, J.R., Roach, M.C., Wang, L., Portelance, L., Mellon, E.A., Bruynzeel, A., Lagerwaard, F., Bassetti, M.F., Parikh, P.J., Lee, P.P. Using Adaptive Magnetic Resonance Image-Guided Radiation Therapy for Treatment of Inoperable Pancreatic Cancer. Cancer Med May; 8(5):2123-2132, 2019. *Selected for issue cover photo*
- Lee, P., Loo, B.W. Jr., Biswas, T., Ding, G.X., El Naqa, I.M., Jackson, A., Kong, F.M., LaCouture, T., Miften, M., Solberg, T., Tome, W.A., Tai, A., Yorke, E., Li, X.A. Local Control After Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy for Stage I Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys Apr 5. Pii: S0360-3016(19)30572-3. Doi: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2019.03.045. [Epub ahead of print], 2019.
- Raldow, A.C., Chen, A.B., Russell, M., Lee, P.P., Hong, T.S., Ryan, D.P., Cusack, J.C., Wo, J.Y. Costeffectiveness of Short-Course Radiation Therapy vs. Long-Course Chemoradiation for Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer. JAMA Netw Open Apr 5;2(4):e 192249. Doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.2249, 2019.
- Formenti, S.C., Hawtin, R.E., Dixit, N., Evensen, E., Lee, P., Goldberg, J.D., Li, X., Vanpouille-Box, C., Shaue, D., McBride, W.H., Demaria, S. Baseline T Cell Dysfunction by Single Cell Network Profiling in Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients. Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer. Jul 11;7(1):177. doi: 10.1186/s40425-019-0633-x, 2019.
- Chan, S.T., Ruan, D., Shaverdian, N., Raghavan, G., Cao, M., Lee, P. Effect of Radiation Dose to the Heart on Survival for Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy for Early-stage non-Small-cell Lung Cancer. An Artificial Neural Network Approach. Clin Lung Cancer. 2019 Oct 21. [Epub ahead of print].
- Luterstein, E., Cao, M., Lamb, J.M., Raldow, A., Low, D., Steinberg, M.L., Lee, P. Clinical Outcomes Using Magnetic Resonance-Guided Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy in Patients with Locally Advanced Cholangiocarcinoma. Advances in Radiation Oncology Oct 10;5(2):189-195, 2019.
- Lee, P., Goldman, J., Donington, J.S. Lung Cancer: Advances in Diagnosis and Management. Semin Respir Crit Care Med. Jun; 41(3):333-334, 2020.
- Dams, R.V., Yuan, Y., Robinson, C.G., Lee, P. Immunotherapy and Radiation Therapy for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer – A Stimulating Partnership. Semin Respir Crit Care Med. Jun; 41(3):360-368, 2020.
- Ning, M.S., McAleer, M.F., Jeter, M.D., Minsky, B.D., Ghafar, R.A., Robinson, I.J., Nitsch, P.L., Zaebst, D.J., Todd, S.E., Nguyen, J., Lin, S.H., Liao, Z., Lee, P., Gunn, G.B., Klopp, A.H., Dabaja, B.S., Nguyen, Q.N., Chronowski, G.M., Bloom, E.S., Koong, A.C., Das, P. Mitigating the Impact of COVID-19 on Oncology: Clinical and Operational Lessons from a Prospective Radiation Oncology Cohort Tested for COVID-19. Radiother Conol. May 29; 148:252-257, 2020.
- Parikh, N.R., Lee, P.P., Raman, S.S., Cao, M., Lamb, J., Tyran, M., Chin, W., Gilchrist, T., Agazaryan, N., Mittauer, K., Steinberg, M.L., Raldow, A.C. Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing Comparison of CT-Guided Versus MR-Guided SBRT. JCO Oncol Pract. Jun 15:JOP1900605. Doi: 10/1200/JOP.19.00605, 2020 [Epub ahead of print].
- Noticewala, S.S., Koong, A.C., Bloom, E.S., Choi, S., Chronowski, G., Ghafar, R.A., Guadagnolo, B.A., Gunn, G.B., Klopp, A., Lee, P., Li, J., Liao, Z., Ludmir, E.B., McAleer, M.F., Nguyen, Q-N, Ning, M.S., Robinson, I.J., Rosenthal, D.I., Shah, S.J., Woodward, W.A., Zaebst, D.J., Dabaja, B.S., Das, P. Radiation Oncology Strategies to Flatten the Curve During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic: Experience From a Large Tertiary Cancer Center. Adv Radiat Oncol. May 21;5(4):567-572, 2020.
- Gjyshi, O., Xu, T., Elhammali, A., Boyce-Fappiano, D., Chun, S.G., Gandhi, S., Lee, P., Chen, A.B., Lin, S.H., Chang, J.Y., Tsao, A., Gay, C.M., Zhu, X.R., Zhang, X., Heymach, J.V., Fossella, F.V., Lu, C., Nguyen, Q.N., Liao, Z. Toxicity and Survival After Intensity-Modulated Proton Therapy Versus Passive Scattering Proton Therapy for NSCLC. J Thorac Oncol. Feb;16(2):269-277, 2021.
- Glide-Hurst, C.K., Lee, P., Yock, A.D., Olsen, J.R., Cao, M., Siddiqui, F., Parker W., Doemer, A., Rong, Y., Kishan, A.U., Benedict, S.H., Li, X.A., Erickson, B.A., Sohn, J.W., Xiao, Y., Wuthrick, E. Adaptive Radiation Therapy (ART) Strategies and Technical Considerations: A State-of-the-art Review from NRG Oncology. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. Mar 15;109(4):1054-1075, 2021.
- Yoon, S.M., Chu, F.I., Ruan, D., Steinberg, M.L., Raldow, A., Lee, P. Assessment of Toxic Effects Associated with Dose-Fractionated Radiotherapy Among Patients with Cancer and Comorbid Collagen Vascular Disease. JAMA Netw Open. Feb 1;4(2):e2034074. Doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.34074., 2021.
- Van Dams, R., Wu, T.C., Kishan, A.U., Raldow, A.C., Chu, F.I., Hernandez, J., Cao, M., Lamb, J.M., Mikaeillian, A., Low, D.A., Steinberg, M.L., Lee, P. Ablative Radiotherapy for Liver Tumors Using Stereotactic MRI-Guidance: A Prospective Phase I Trial. Radiother Oncol. Jun 6:S0167-8140(21)06577-4, 2021.
- Yoon, S.M., Luterstein, E., Chu, F.I., Cao, M., Lamb, J., Agazaryan, N., Low, D., Raldow, A., Steinberg, M.L., Lee, P. Clinical Outcomes of Stereotactic Magnetic Resonance Image-guided Adaptive Radiotherapy for Primary and Metastatic Tumors in the Abdomen and Pelvis. Cancer Med. Jul 20.doi: 10.1002/cam4.4139. Online ahead of print, 2021.
- Chang, J.Y., Mehran, R.J., Feng, L., Verma, V., Liao, Z., Welsh, J.W., Lin, S.H., O’Reilly, M.S., Jeter, M.D., Balter, P.A., McRae, S.E., Berry, D., Heymach, J., Roth, J.A., Collaborators, STARS Lung Cancer Trial Group: Antonoff, M., Hofsetter, W., Rajaram, R., Rice, D., Sepesi, B., Swisher, S., Vaporciyan, A., Welsh, G., DeGraaf, C., Correa, A., Chen, A., Gandhi, S., Komaki, R., Lee, P., Nguyen, Q-N., Ning, M., Gao, S., Pollard-Larkin, J., Nitsch, P., Sadagopan, R., Wang, X. Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy for Operable Stage I Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer (revised STARS): Long-term Results of a Single-arm, Prospective Trial with Prespecified Comparison to Surgery. Lancet Oncol. Oct; 22(10):1448-1457, 2021