Cristina DeCesaris, MD, a Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) physician, is a clinical track assistant professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Utah. She is a member of the multidisciplinary Central Nervous System, Gynecology, and Pediatric teams.

Dr. DeCesaris’s clinical expertise is in delivering intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), image guided radiation therapy (IGRT), volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT), proton pencil-beam scanning (PBS) radiotherapy, and high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy.

Dr. DeCesaris earned dual bachelor’s degrees in Neurobiology and Physiology as well as Psychology at The University of Maryland in College Park, MD. She went on to complete medical school at the Rutgers University’s Robert Wood Johnson School of Medicine and residency at the University of Maryland in Baltimore, MD. She is passionate about education, clinical research, and equitable delivery of healthcare. She is a member of many committees at the University of Utah. She is currently a member of many American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) and American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), where she serves as a mentor training young physicians in critical review of medical literature. She is involved in prospective clinical trials and has completed clinical and database research.

Specialties

Board Certification

American Board of Radiology (Radiation Oncology)

Patient Rating

Patients consistently describe Dr. DeCesaris as highly knowledgeable, professional, and thorough. Reviewers say she listens attentively, explains conditions and treatment options clearly (often using visuals), and takes time to answer questions in a calm, reassuring manner. Many note her compassion, clear communication, and willingness to coordinate care and advocate for patients.

Generated via Patient Reviews

4.7 /5

( out of 147 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.

May 25, 2026

SUGAR HOUSE HEALTH CENTER

Hard to give a rating to someone that helped save my life. She's really good at this stuff.

Apr 26, 2026

HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

Explained very clearly her role in the treatment plan.

Apr 25, 2026

HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

Impressive

Jun 27, 2025

HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

Great, no problem. She listened and explained in a very inviting manner

May 11, 2025

HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

She only would discuss my specific tumor and needs in generalities. What she was saying that would likely happen and how we predict tumor growth behavior already was inaccurate in my specific case. So her plan for treatment that was based on these assumptions was not tailored to my needs. I found it impossible to explain those to her because she was only capable of repeating the party line. I'm going to try getting help where the human patient is more important than the data sets or research trends.

Mar 24, 2025

HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

She is well qualified and very helpful ..

Jan 04, 2025

SUGAR HOUSE HEALTH CENTER

Extremely caring and experienced provider

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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.

Board Certification and Academic Information

Academic Departments	Radiation Oncology -Assistant Professor (Clinical)
Board Certification	American Board of Radiology (Radiation Oncology)

Education history

Professional Other	ASCO Journals Editorial Fellow	Fellow
Residency	Radiation Oncology - University of Maryland Medical Center	Resident
Chief Resident	Radiation Oncology - University of Maryland Medical Center	Chief Resident
Residency	Radiation Oncology - University of Maryland Medical Center	Resident
Internship	Internal Medicine - Lankenau Medical Center	Intern
Fellowship	Radiation Oncology - Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania	Clinical Research Fellow
Professional Medical	Medicine - Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School	M.D.
Undergraduate	Neurobiology/Physiology - University of Maryland	B.S.
Undergraduate	Psychology - University of Maryland	B.S.

Selected Publications

Journal Article

Jhandi S, Jhandi AS, Cannon DM, Burt LM, DeCesaris C, Menacho ST, Colman H, Jensen RL (2025). Stereotactic radiosurgery for radiation‑induced meningiomas: long‑term institutional outcomes with patient- and lesion‑level analyses and an updated meta‑analysis. J Neurooncol, 176(1), 122.
Weil CR, Rock CB, Sarkar V, Gravbrot N, Lew FH, Rock CB, Burt LM, DeCesaris CM, Jensen RL, Shrieve DC, Cannon DM (2025). Lack of Impact of Expansion Size From Gross Tumor Volume to Planning Target Volume on Control Rates and Patterns of Recurrence in Fractionated Radiotherapy for WHO Grade 1 Meningiomas. Am J Clin Oncol, 48(8), 403-409.
DeCesaris C, Bedell S, Gaffney D, Suneja G, Burt L, Brower J (2025). Identification and Management of Late Toxicities After Radiation Therapy for Vulvar Cancer. Pract Radiat Oncol.
DeCesaris C, Bedell S, Kelley K, Gaffney D, Suneja G, Burt L, Jarboe E, Brower J (2024). Use of Radiation Therapy in the Management of Vulvar Cancers-Identification and Management of Acute and Late Toxicities. Pract Radiat Oncol, 15(1), e57-e62.
Cruttenden J, Weil C, Byer D, Burt L, Suneja G, Gaffney D, DeCesaris C (2024). Patterns of Care in Adjuvant Radiation Therapy for Stage II Endometrioid Endometrial Adenocarcinoma: A National Cancer Database Analysis. Adv Radiat Oncol, 10(2), 101698.
DeCesaris C, Wilson T, Kim J, Burt L, Grant J, Harkenrider MM, Huang J, Jhingran A, Kidd E, Konski A, Lin L, Small W Jr, Suneja G, Gaffney D (2024). Financial Improvements From Short Course Adjuvant Vaginal Cuff Brachytherapy in Early Endometrial Cancer Compared With Standard of Care, "SAVE" Trial. Pract Radiat Oncol, 14(6), e500-e506.
Gravbrot N, Rock CB, Weil CR, Rock CB, Burt LM, DeCesaris CM, Jensen RL, Shrieve DC, Cannon DM (2024). Gross tumor and intracranial control benefits with fractionated radiotherapy compared to stereotactic radiosurgery for patients with WHO grade 2 meningioma. World Neurosurg.
Gravbrot N, Weil CR, DeCesaris CM, Gaffney DK, Suneja G, Burt LM (2024). Differentiation of survival outcomes by anatomic involvement and histology with the revised 2023 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics staging system for endometrial cancer. Eur J Cancer, 201, 113913.
Rock CB, Weil CR, Rock CB, Gravbrot N, Burt LM, DeCesaris C, Menacho ST, Jensen RL, Shrieve DC, Cannon DM (2024). Patterns of failure after radiosurgery for WHO grade 1 or imaging defined meningiomas: Long-term outcomes and implications for management. J Clin Neurosci, 120, 175-180.
Huang YJ, DeCesaris CM, Sarkar V, Zhao H, Kunz J, Nelson G, Li X, Suneja G, Burt LM, Gaffney DK (2023). Image-guided preplanning workflow for high-dose-rate interstitial brachytherapy for gynecological malignancies. Brachytherapy, 23(1), 25-34.
Lee SS, Weil CR, Boyd LR, DeCesaris C, Gaffney D, Suneja G (2023). Trends in use of radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and combination chemoradiotherapy in advanced uterine cancer before, during, and after GOG 258. Int J Gynecol Cancer, 33(9), 1408-1418.
DeCesaris CM, Mossahebi S, Jatczak J, Rao AD, Zhu M, Mishra MV, Nichols E (2021). Outcomes of and treatment planning considerations for a hybrid technique delivering proton pencil-beam scanning radiation to women with metal-containing tissue expanders undergoing post-mastectomy radiation. Radiother Oncol, 164, 289-298.
DeCesaris CM, Pollock A, Zhang B, Poirier Y, Kowalski E, Paulosky K, Mishra MV, Nichols E (2020). Assessing the Need for Adjusted Organ-at-Risk Planning Goals for Patients Undergoing Adjuvant Radiation Therapy for Locally Advanced Breast Cancer with Proton Radiation. Pract Radiat Oncol, 11(2), 108-118.
Moran BJ, Koroulakis A, DeCesaris C, Braccioforte MH, Amin N, Agarwal M (2020). Long-term outcomes of a prospective randomized trial of 131Cs/125I permanent prostate brachytherapy. Brachytherapy, 20(1), 38-43.
Snider JW, Molitoris J, Shyu S, Diwanji T, Rice S, Kowalski E, DeCesaris C, Remick JS, Yi B, Zhang B, Hall A, Hanna N, Ng VY, Regine WF (2020). Spatially Fractionated Radiotherapy (GRID) Prior to Standard Neoadjuvant Conventionally Fractionated Radiotherapy for Bulky, High-Risk Soft Tissue and Osteosarcomas: Feasibility, Safety, and Promising Pathologic Response Rates. Radiat Res, 194(6), 707-714.
Poirier Y, Becker S, DeCesaris C, Culberson W, Draeger E, Gerry AJ, Johnstone CD, Gibbs A, Vujaskovic Z, Jackson IL (2020). The Impact of Radiation Energy on Dose Homogeneity and Organ Dose in the Göttingen Minipig Total-Body Irradiation Model. Radiat Res, 194(5), 544-556.
DeCesaris C, Rao AD (2020). Characterizing the Risk of Vertebral Body Fractures in Patients Receiving Chemoradiotherapy for Esophageal Cancer. JAMA Netw Open, 3(9), e2014340.
DeCesaris CM, Berger M, Choi JI, Carr SR, Burrows WM, Regine WF, Simone CB 2nd, Molitoris JK (2020). Pathologic complete response (pCR) rates and outcomes after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy with proton or photon radiation for adenocarcinomas of the esophagus and gastroesophageal junction. J Gastrointest Oncol, 11(4), 663-673.
DeCesaris CM, McCarroll R, Mishra MV, Glass E, Greenwald BD, Carr S, Burrows W, Mehra R, Regine WF, Simone CB 2nd, Choi JI, Molitoris JK (2020). Assessing Outcomes of Patients Treated With Re-Irradiation Utilizing Proton Pencil-Beam Scanning for Primary or Recurrent Malignancies of the Esophagus and Gastroesophageal Junction. J Thorac Oncol, 15(6), 1054-1064.
Zhu M, Kaiser A, Mishra MV, Kwok Y, Remick J, DeCesaris C, Langen KM (2019). Multiple Computed Tomography Robust Optimization to Account for Random Anatomic Density Variations During Intensity Modulated Proton Therapy. Adv Radiat Oncol, 5(5), 1022-1031.
Koroulakis A, Rice SR, DeCesaris C, Knight N, Nichols EM (2019). Perceptions and Patterns in Academic Publishing: A Survey of United States Residents in Radiation Oncology. Adv Radiat Oncol, 5(2), 146-151.
Chinniah C, Aguarin L, Cheng P, DeCesaris C, Cutillo A, Berman AT, Frick M, Doucette A, Cengel KA, Levin W, Hahn S, Dorsey JF, Simone CB 2nd, Kao GD (2019). Early Detection of Recurrence in Patients With Locally Advanced Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer via Circulating Tumor Cell Analysis. Clin Lung Cancer, 20(5), 384-390.e2.
DeCesaris CM, Rice SR, Bentzen SM, Jatczak J, Mishra MV, Nichols EM (2019). Quantification of Acute Skin Toxicities in Patients With Breast Cancer Undergoing Adjuvant Proton versus Photon Radiation Therapy: A Single Institutional Experience. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys, 104(5), 1084-1090.
Frick MA, Kao GD, Aguarin L, Chinniah C, Swisher-McClure S, Berman AT, Levin WP, Cengel KA, DeCesaris C, Hahn SM, Dorsey JF, Simone CB 2nd (2018). Circulating Tumor Cell Assessment in Presumed Early Stage Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients Treated with Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy: A Prospective Pilot Study. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys, 102(3), 536-542.
Berman AT, DeCesaris CM, Simone CB 2nd, Vachani C, DiLullo G, Hampshire MK, Metz J, Hill-Kayser C (2016). Use of Survivorship Care Plans and Analysis of Patient-Reported Outcomes in Multinational Patients With Lung Cancer. J Oncol Pract, 12(5), e527-35.

Review

Burt L, Jarboe E, Gaffney D, Suneja G, DeCesaris C, Bedell S, Brower J (2024). Vulvar Cancer: Histopathologic Considerations and Nuances to Management. [Review]. Pract Radiat Oncol, 15(1), 86-92.

Case Report

DeCesaris C, Amin NP, Hundal J, Vujaskovic Z, Agarwal M (2018). Hyperthermia and Hyper-fractionated Radiation for a Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma Progressing on Standard Therapy: A Case Report. Adv Radiat Oncol, 4(1), 4-9.

Letter

Urias E, DeCesaris C (2025). Comment on "A comparison of outcomes after radiosurgery in non-small cell lung cancer patients with one versus more than twenty brain metastases: an international multi-center study". [Letter to the editor]. J Neurooncol, 175(3), 1469-1470.
DeCesaris CM, Kokeny K (2022). The Best Defense is a Good Offense. [Letter to the editor]. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys, 114(4), 574-575.
DeCesaris C, Rice SR, Bentzen SM, Jatczak J, Mishra MV, Mossahebi S, Nichols EM (2019). In Reply to Tommasino et al. [Letter to the editor]. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys, 105(3), 677-678.

Other

Gravbrot N, Weil CR, DeCesaris CM, Gaffney DK, Suneja G, Burt LM (2024). Corrigendum to "Differentiation of survival outcomes by anatomic involvement and histology with the revised 2023 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics staging system for endometrial cancer" Eur. J. Cancer (201) (April) 2024, 113913. Eur J Cancer (202, p. 114017). England.