Courtney L. Scaife
( out of 120 reviews )

Courtney L. Scaife, MD

Languages spoken: English

Clinical Locations

Primary Location

Huntsman Cancer Institute - Cancer Hospital South

Clinic 3A, Gastrointestinal
1950 Circle of Hope
Salt Lake City , UT 84112
801-646-4365
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  • Courtney Scaife, MD, is a Professor of Surgery at the University of Utah who specializes in the care of patients requiring surgical treatment related to gastrointestinal oncology. Dr. Scaife earned her undergraduate degree from DePauw University and medical degree from the University of Wisconsin. Her general surgery residency was done at the University of Utah, which was followed by a two-year fellowship in surgical oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Scaife joined the faculty at the University of Utah in 2003 and is a tenured academic surgeon. Dr. Scaife’s focus in surgery involves diseases of the liver, pancreas, and gastrointestinal tract. Her clinical efforts include both complex surgical endeavors as well as academic research. She has received numerous research grants and participates with other colleagues in the areas of diagnosis and treatment of cancer, in particular pancreatic cancer.

    Dr. Scaife was appointed as the Vice-Chair for Clinical Operations for the Department of Surgery as well as representing the Department of Surgery at the Huntsman Cancer Institute. She served as the Interim Chief for the inaugural Division of Surgical Oncology in the Department of Surgery from January 2024 to July 2025. Additionally, she serves as the Gastrointestinal Disease Center Leader at the Huntsman Cancer Institute.

    Specialties

    Patient Rating

    4.9 /5
    ( out of 120 reviews )

    The patient rating score is an average of all responses on our patient experience survey. The rating averages scores for all questions about care from our providers.

    The scale on which responses are measured is 1 to 5 with 5 being the best score.

    Patient Comments

    Patient comments are gathered from our patient experience survey and displayed in their entirety. For the convenience of our visitors, some patient comments have been translated from their original language into English while preserving their original meaning as accurately as possible. Patients are de-identified for confidentiality and patient privacy.

    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

    Dr. Scaife explains things to me in a manner I can understand. She is cautious and genuinely cares about me and my overall health care. I trust and respect her. Am so glad that Dr. Rockwell recommended Dr. Scaife to do my surgery.

    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

    Doctor Scaife explained everything very well and took the time to answer my questions. I appreciate her time and attention to my needs and concerns.

    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

    Dr Scaife is the best. Smart, organized, caring, professional and wildly talented and perceptive.

    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

    I expressed my concerns and my true wishes regarding cancer and I was dismissed. I felt like nobody would listen to my concerns.

    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

    Dr. Scaife is an excellent provider. She is knowledgeable, professional, & takes time to listen to any & all concerns. She is happy to answer questions & genuinely cares.

    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

    Very knowledgeable and is highly acclimated by all who know her.

    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

    Courtney is an excellent professional and a better human being.

    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

    All I can say is she is the very best

    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

    My husband and I were so impressed with Dr. Scaife. She explained things so well with pictures and diagrams, and really took the time to explain everything. She was excellent at caring about my concerns and answering all of my questions.

  • Courtney Scaife, MD, is a Professor of Surgery at the University of Utah who specializes in the care of patients requiring surgical treatment related to gastrointestinal oncology. Dr. Scaife earned her undergraduate degree from DePauw University and medical degree from the University of Wisconsin. Her general surgery residency was done at the University of Utah, which was followed by a two-year fellowship in surgical oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Scaife joined the faculty at the University of Utah in 2003 and is a tenured academic surgeon. Dr. Scaife’s focus in surgery involves diseases of the liver, pancreas, and gastrointestinal tract. Her clinical efforts include both complex surgical endeavors as well as academic research. She has received numerous research grants and participates with other colleagues in the areas of diagnosis and treatment of cancer, in particular pancreatic cancer.

    Dr. Scaife was appointed as the Vice-Chair for Clinical Operations for the Department of Surgery as well as representing the Department of Surgery at the Huntsman Cancer Institute. She served as the Interim Chief for the inaugural Division of Surgical Oncology in the Department of Surgery from January 2024 to July 2025. Additionally, she serves as the Gastrointestinal Disease Center Leader at the Huntsman Cancer Institute.

    Board Certification and Academic Information

    Academic Departments Surgery -Professor
    Academic Divisions Surgical Oncology

    Education history

    Undergraduate DePauw University B.S.
    Professional Medical Medicine - University of Wisconsin School of Medicine M.D.
    Internship General Surgery - University of Utah School of Medicine Intern
    Residency General Surgery - University of Utah School of Medicine Resident
    Fellowship Oncology - University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Fellow

    Selected Publications

    Journal Article

    1. Hernandez S, Parra ER, Uraoka N, Tang X, Shen Y, Qiao W, Jiang M, Zhang S, Mino B, Lu W, Pandurengan R, Haymaker C, Affolter K, Scaife CL, Yip-Schneider M, Schmidt CM, Firpo MA, Mulvihill SJ, Koay EJ, Wang H, Wistuba II, Maitra A, Solis LM, Sen (2022). Diminished Immune Surveillance during Histologic Progression of Intraductal Papillary Mucinous Neoplasms Offers a Therapeutic Opportunity for Cancer Interception. Clinical cancer research, 28(9), 1938-1947. (Read full publication)
    2. Himbert C, Hathaway CA, Daniels B, Salas K, Ashworth A, Gigic B, Lin T, Viskochil R, Kirchhoff AC, Grossman D, Ose J, Tward J, Scaife C, Figueiredo JC, Toriola AT, Beck A, Shibata D, Gonzalez BD, Matsen C, Christenson C, Ma DS, Colman H, Hunt JP, Jones KB, Lee CJ, Larson M, Onega T, Akerley WL, Li CI, Schneider M, Penedo FJ, Siegel EM, Tworoger SS, Ulrich CM, Peoples A (2022). Factors associated with changes in exercise behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cancer causes & control, 33(7), 939-950. (Read full publication)
    3. Gutnik L, Bleicher J, Davis A, McLeod MC, McCrum M, Scaife (2022). American Indian/Alaska native access to colorectal cancer screening: Does gastroenterologist density matter?. American journal of surgery, 224, 965-970. (Read full publication)
    4. Parsons M, Lloyd S, Johnson S, Scaife C, Soares H, Kim R, Kim R, Garrido-Laguna I, Tao (2022). The Implications of Treatment Delays in Adjuvant Therapy for Resected Cholangiocarcinoma Patients. Journal of gastrointestinal cancer, 54(2), 492-500. (Read full publication)
    5. Peoples AR, Oswald LB, Ose J, Daniels B, Himbert C, Hathaway CA, Gigic B, Kirchhoff AC, Lin T, Grossman D, Tward J, Varghese TK Jr, Figueiredo JC, Toriola AT, Beck A, Scaife C, Shibata D, LaStayo P, Gonzalez B, Salas K, Ashworth A, Matsen C, Christenson C, Ma DS, Colman H, Hunt JP, Jones KB, Lee CJ, Larson M, Onega T, Akerley WL, Li CI, Schneider M, Penedo FJ, Siegel EM, Tworoger SS, Ulrich C (2022). Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on rural and urban cancer patients' experiences, health behaviors, and perceptions. The Journal of rural health, 38(4), 886-899. (Read full publication)
    6. Bleicher J, Place A, Harris AHS, Scaife CL, Huang L (2022). Patient Perceptions of Decision-making and Quality-of-life Following Surgical Resection of Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma: A Mixed-methods Study. Annals of surgery open, 3(4), e214. (Read full publication)
    7. Himbert C, Ose J, Gigic B, Viskochil R, Santuci K, Lin T, Ashworth A, Cohan JN, Scaife CL, Jedrzkiewicz J, Damerell V, Atkins KM, Gong J, Mutch MG, Bernadt C, Felder S, Sanchez J, Cohen SA, Krane MK, Hinkle N, Wood E, Peoples AR, Figueiredo JC, Toriola AT, Siegel EM, Li CI, Shibata D, Boucher K, Round JL, Ulrich AB, Schneider M, Huang LC, Hardikar S, Ulrich C (2023). Associations of combined physical activity and body mass index groups with colorectal cancer survival outcomes. BMC cancer, 23(1), 300. (Read full publication)
    8. Semaan A, Bernard V, Wong JW, Makino Y, Swartzlander DB, Rajapakshe KI, Lee JJ, Officer A, Schmidt CM, Wu HH, Scaife CL, Affolter K, Nachmanson D, Firpo MA, Yip-Schneider M, Lowy AM, Harismendy O, Sen S, Maitra A, Jakubek YA, Guerrero P (2023). Integrated Molecular Characterization of Intraductal Papillary Mucinous Neoplasms: An NCI Cancer Moonshot Precancer Atlas Pilot Project. Cancer research communications, 3(10), 2062-2073. (Read full publication)
    9. Florou V, Elliott A, Bailey MH, Stone D, Affolter K, Soares HP, Nevala-Plagemann C, Scaife C, Walker P, Korn WM, Lou E, Shroff RT, Hosein PJ, Garrido-Laguna (2023). Comparative Genomic Analysis of Pancreatic Acinar Cell Carcinoma (PACC) and Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) Unveils New Actionable Genomic Aberrations in PACC. Clinical cancer research, 29(17), 3408-3417. (Read full publication)
    10. Himbert C, Stephens WZ, Gigic B, Hardikar S, Holowatyj AN, Lin T, Ose J, Swanson E, Ashworth A, Warby CA, Peoples AR, Nix D, Jedrzkiewicz J, Bronner M, Pickron B, Scaife C, Cohan JN, Schrotz-King P, Habermann N, Boehm J, Hullar M, Figueiredo JC, Toriola AT, Siegel EM, Li CI, Ulrich AB, Shibata D, Boucher K, Huang LC, Schneider M, Round JL, Ulrich C (2022). Differences in the gut microbiome by physical activity and BMI among colorectal cancer patients. American journal of cancer research, 12(10), 4789-4801. (Read full publication)
    11. Chiorean EG, Chiaro MD, Tempero MA, Malafa MP, Benson AB, Cardin DB, Christensen JA, Chung V, Czito B, Dillhoff M, Donahue TR, Dotan E, Fountzilas C, Glazer ES, Hardacre J, Hawkins WG, Klute K, Ko AH, Kunstman JW, LoConte N, Lowy AM, Masood A, Moravek C, Nakakura EK, Narang AK, Nardo L, Obando J, Polanco PM, Reddy S, Reyngold M, Scaife C, Shen J, Truty MJ, Vollmer C, Wolff RA, Wolpin BM, Rn BM, Lubin S, Darlow S (2023). Ampullary Adenocarcinoma, Version 1.2023, NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology. Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, 21(7), 753-782. (Read full publication)
    12. D'Angelica MI,Ellis RJ,Liu JB,Brajcich BC,Gönen M,Thompson VM,Cohen ME,Seo SK,Zabor EC,Babicky ML,Bentrem DJ,Behrman SW,Bertens KA,Celinski SA,Chan CHF,Dillhoff M,Dixon MEB,Fernandez-Del Castillo C,Gholami S,House MG,Karanicolas PJ,Lavu H,Maithel SK,McAuliffe JC,Ott MJ,Reames BN,Sanford DE,Sarpel U,Scaife CL,Serrano PE,Smith T,Snyder RA,Talamonti MS,Weber SM,Yopp AC,Pitt HA,Ko C (2023). Piperacillin-Tazobactam Compared with Cefoxitin as Antimicrobial Prophylaxis for Pancreatoduodenectomy: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA, 329(18), 1579-1588. (Read full publication)
    13. Aßmann ES, Ose J, Hathaway CA, Oswald LB, Hardikar S, Himbert C, Chellam V, Lin T, Daniels B, Kirchhoff AC, Gigic B, Grossman D, Tward J, Varghese TK Jr, Shibata D, Figueiredo JC, Toriola AT, Beck A, Scaife C, Barnes CA, Matsen C, Ma DS, Colman H, Hunt JP, Jones KB, Lee CJ, Larson M, Onega T, Akerley WL, Li CI, Grady WM, Schneider M, Dinkel A, Islam JY, Gonzalez BD, Otto AK, Penedo FJ, Siegel EM, Tworoger SS, Ulrich CM, Peoples A (2024). Risk factors and health behaviors associated with loneliness among cancer survivors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of behavioral medicine, 47(3), 405-421. (Read full publication)

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