Michael Cecchini, MD

Michael Cecchini, MD, is a medical oncologist who specializes in gastrointestinal cancers, including (but not limited to) colorectal, bile duct, pancreas, esophageal, and stomach cancers. He often cares for patients with advanced gastrointestinal cancers and is an investigator in multiple research trials to help them get treatments that are not always available elsewhere.

“Taking care of patients and spending the time to get to know them is the best part of my job,” Dr. Cecchini says. It helps to draw upon the diverse expertise of colleagues at Smilow and those in non-cancer specialties, he adds. “At Yale we have an excellent multidisciplinary team that will work hard to treat your cancer, manage your symptoms, and deliver the care you deserve as a patient.”

Dr. Cecchini was inspired to become a cancer specialist partly because he wanted to have opportunities to perform research to improve options for his patients. “Few specialties are so integrated with close patient relationships and translational research that can dramatically improve the lives of our patients and minimize side effects,” he says. His translational research includes clinical and lab projects to study DNA damage and the immune response, primarily for colorectal cancer. He is the recipient of a Young Investigator Award from the Conquer Cancer Foundation for research focused on metastatic gastric cancer and 2020 Scholar on the Yale Cancer Center K12 Calabresi Immuno-Oncology Training Program.