Jason Sicklick, MD, FACS

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Jason Sicklick, MD, is a general surgeon and surgical oncologist who specializes in treating hepatobiliary diseases and sarcomas, including gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST). He has a special interest in abdominal and retroperitoneal sarcomas, primary liver tumors and colorectal and neuroendocrine cancers that have metastasized to the liver. Working with other surgeons and specialists at UC San Diego Healths Liver Center and the Gastrointestinal Unit at Moores Cancer Center, he employs a number of techniques, including: Minimally invasive gastric resections of GIST, including laparo-endoscopic resections in collaboration with the minimally invasive surgery teamOrgan-sparing sarcoma resections to remove abdominal and retroperitoneal tumorsParenchymal-sparing liver resections to remove smaller amounts of liver tissue and increase safetyHepatic arterial infusion pump placement for delivery of chemotherapy directly to the liver through a surgically implanted deviceMicrowave (thermal) ablation, involving the application of heat to kill tumorsSystemic chemotherapy administered by our medical oncology teamPortal vein embolization to increase the amount of liver remaining after surgical resection, performed by the interventional radiology teamHepatic artery embolization, involving the blockage of blood vessels supplying liver tumors, performed by our interventional radiology teamAs an associate professor in the Department of Surgery, Dr. Sicklick instructs medical students, residents and fellows at UC San Diego School of Medicine. His translational and clinical research interests include molecular mechanisms of GIST and hepatocellular carcinoma, as well as precision medicine approaches to cancer therapy. For more information on his publications or his research on GIST, liver cancer, or personalized medicine, see his faculty page at http://profiles.ucsd.edu/jason.sicklick.Dr. Sicklick has co-authored over 70 peer-reviewed articles and his work has appeared in Gastroenterology and Journal of Clinical Oncology, among others. He also serves on the editorial board for Annals of Surgical Oncology, Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery and Journal of Surgical Research.Dr. Sicklick completed a fellowship in surgical oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, where he was elected chief administrative fellow. He completed a general surgery residency at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. During his residency, Dr. Sicklick spent three years doing translational research at Duke University Medical Center where he and his colleagues were the first to identify that the Hedgehog signaling pathway regulates liver stem cells and is important in the pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma. They were also the first to identify hepatic stellate cells, which are responsible for liver fibrosis and cirrhosis. He earned his medical degree from UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. Dr. Sicklick is board-certified in general surgery and a fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS).In 2016, he was honored with the GIST Clinician of the Year award by The Life Raft Group, an international GIST research, patient support, education and advocacy organization.UC San Diego Health LinksFor more information, see https://health.ucsd.edu/specialties/cancer/Pages/default.aspx or http://health.ucsd.edu/specialties/surgery/Pages/default.aspx.