Alice Yu, MD

Cancer Focus:
Bladder Cancer, Prostate Cancer

Dr. Yu received her MD from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She completed a Urology Residency at the McGill University Health Center. Subsequently, she spent two years in Boston, Massachusetts where she completed a Urologic Oncology Fellowship in the Combined Harvard Program at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
 
Dr. Yu’s clinical practice focuses on the surgical treatment of urologic cancers including prostate, bladder, kidney, penile and testicular cancer, using minimally invasive (laparoscopic and robotic) and open techniques. She is interested in surgical outcomes research and quality improvement with a focus on bladder and prostate cancers.

Education & Training

Fellowship:

• Massachusetts General Hospital Brigham and Women's Hospital - Urologic Oncology
• Massachusetts General Hospital Brigham and Women’s Hospital - Society of Urologic Oncology

Residency:

• McGill University Health Center - Urology

Medical School:

• McGill University - MD

• Zhao D, Khatri VM, Nakashima JY, Chadha J, Chatwal M, Zhang J, Ionescu F, Linscott JA, Li R, Poch M, Sexton W, Yu A, Spiess PE, Zemp L, Gilbert SM, Manley B, Yin V, Jain R, Torres-Roca J, Johnstone P, Yamoah K, Grass GD. Early Detection of Metastatic Progression by Circulating Tumor DNA in Patients Undergoing Bladder-preserving Trimodality Therapy. J Urol. 2025 Nov.101097JU0000000000004849. Pubmedid: 41231842.
• Miyagi H, Yu X, Peak T, Dhillon J, Le C, Wang X, Yoder S, Marchion D, Lu X, Pettaway C, Moran Segura C, Zhang C, Roman Souza G, Yu A, Zemp L, Spiess P, Chahoud J. Progressive T cell exhaustion and predominance of aging tissue associated macrophages with advancing disease stage in penile squamous cell carcinoma. Sci Rep. 2025 Mar.15(1):7703. Pubmedid: 40044748. Pmcid: PMC11882776.
• Yu A, Hensley PJ, Huelster HL, Martin A, Potrezke A, Pham J, Raman JD, Pallauf M, Singla N, Katims A, Coleman J, Margulis V, Matin SF, Spiess PE. Response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy leads to better survival outcomes in upper tract urothelial carcinoma. BJU Int. 2025 Jun.135(6):994-999. Pubmedid: 39825642.
• George AK, Miocinovic R, Patel AR, Lomas DJ, Correa AF, Chen DYT, Rastinehad AR, Schwartz MJ, Sidana A, Stensland KD, Helfand BT, Gahan JC, Meng X, Yu A, Brisbane WG, Vourganti S, Barqawi AB, Uchio EM, Wysock JS, Polascik TJ, McClure TD, Fainberg J, Coleman JA. Irreversible Electroporation for Prostate Tissue Ablation in Patients with Intermediate-risk Prostate Cancer: Results from the PRESERVE Trial. Eur Urol. 2025 Jul. Pubmedid: 40685282.
• Avasthi KK, Choi JW, Glushko T, Manley BJ, Yu A, Park JY, Brown JS, Pow-Sang J, Gatenby R, Wang L, Balagurunathan Y. Extracellular Microvesicle MicroRNAs and Imaging Metrics Improve the Detection of Aggressive Prostate Cancer: A Pilot Study. Cancers (Basel). 2025 Feb.17(5). Pubmedid: 40075682. Pmcid: PMC11898942.
• Wen L, Miyagi H, Spiess PE, Yu A, Mendelsohn CL, Tan WS, Psutka SP, Lerner SP, Cheng L, Dyrskjøt L, Meeks JJ, Shariat SF, Gontero P, Pradere B, Steinberg GD, Kamat AM, Li R. Low-grade non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer: molecular landscape, treatment strategies and emerging therapies. Nat Rev Urol. 2025 Dec.22(12):846-861. Pubmedid: 40931081.
• Kumar NB, Bahl S, Lemay D, Dhillon J, Poch M, Manley B, Li R, Pow-Sang J, Yu A, Whiting J, Schell MJ. Nutritional intake of ω-3 fatty acid intake and clinical grade of prostate cancer. Cancer Epidemiol. 2025 Dec.99:102959. Pubmedid: 41223508.
• Guske C, Jazayeri SB, Harrs C, Rao N, Davaro F, Xu H, Zemp L, Yu A, Gilbert SM, Poch M, Spiess PE, Sexton W, Linscott J, Li R. Assessing the Impact of Treatment Timing Protocols in Clinical Trials for Bacillus Calmette-Guérin-unresponsive Non-muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer. Eur Urol Oncol. 2025 Aug.8(4):888-892. Pubmedid: 40670271.
• Nicaise E, Feldman AS, Gusev A, Yu A, Nimmagadda N, Wszolek MF, McGovern F, Blute ML, Dahl DM. A contemporary comparison of laparoscopic versus open partial nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma. BMC Urol. 2024 Mar.24(1):58. Pubmedid: 38475808. Pmcid: PMC10929101.
• George AK, Miocinovic R, Patel AR, Lomas DJ, Correa AF, Chen DYT, Rastinehad AR, Schwartz MJ, Uchio EM, Sidana A, Helfand BT, Gahan JC, Yu A, Vourganti S, Barqawi AB, Brisbane WG, Wysock JS, Polascik TJ, McClure TD, Coleman JA. A Description and Safety Overview of Irreversible Electroporation for Prostate Tissue Ablation in Intermediate-Risk Prostate Cancer Patients: Preliminary Results from the PRESERVE Trial. Cancers (Basel). 2024 Jun.16(12). Pubmedid: 38927884. Pmcid: PMC11201469.
• Yu A, Dinckal M, Pow-Sang J. Surgical Ablative Therapies in Patients With Radiorecurrent Prostate Cancer. Cancer Control. 2024 Jan.31. Pubmedid: 39243163. Pmcid: PMC11380134.
• Wei Z, Iluppangama M, Qi J, Choi JW, Yu A, Gage K, Chumbalkar V, Dhillon J, Balaji KC, Venkataperumal S, Hernandez DJ, Park J, Yedjou C, Alo R, Gatenby RA, Pow-Sang J, Balagurunanthan Y. Quantitative DCE Dynamics on Transformed MR Imaging Discriminates Clinically Significant Prostate Cancer. Cancer Control. 2024 Jan.31. Pubmedid: 39545376. Pmcid: PMC11565616.
• Tosoian JJ, Yu A, Brisbane WG. Point of View: Innovation and Progress for Screening and Management of Localized Prostate Cancer: What an Exciting Time. J Urol. 2024 Feb.211(2):317-319. Pubmedid: 38010955.
• Liveringhouse C, Sim AJ, Zhang J, Jain RK, Naidu SU, Linkowski L, Zemp LW, Yu A, Sexton WJ, Spiess PE, Gilbert SM, Poch MA, Pow-Sang J, Li R, Manley BJ, Vosoughi A, Dhillon J, Xu H, Torres-Roca JF, Johnstone PAS, Yamoah K, Grass GD. A Single Institution Experience in the Management of Localized Neuroendocrine Carcinoma of the Bladder. Clin Genitourin Cancer. 2024 Dec.22(6):102222. Pubmedid: 39353214.
• Avasthi KK, Choi J, Glushko T, Manley BJ, Yu A, Pow-Sang J, Gatenby R, Wang L, Balagurunathan Y. Extracellular microvesicle microRNAs, along with imaging metrics, improve detection of aggressive prostate cancer. medRxiv. 2024 Aug. Pubmedid: 39228742. Pmcid: PMC11370497.
• Aydin AM, Biben E, Yu A, Chakiryan NH, Mehrazin R, Spiess PE. Minimally Invasive Management of Inguinal Lymph Nodes in Penile Cancer: Recent Progress and Remaining Challenges. Cancers (Basel). 2024 Aug.16(17). Pubmedid: 39272796. Pmcid: PMC11394048.
• Linscott JA, Miyagi H, Murthy PB, Yao S, Grass GD, Vosoughi A, Xu H, Wang X, Yu X, Yu A, Zemp L, Gilbert SM, Poch MA, Sexton WJ, Spiess PE, Li R. From Detection to Cure - Emerging Roles for Urinary Tumor DNA (utDNA) in Bladder Cancer. Curr Oncol Rep. 2024 Aug.26(8):945-958. Pubmedid: 38837106.
• Davaro F, Davaro E, Rose K, Murthy P, Naidu S, Camperlengo L, Grass GD, Vosoughi A, Jain RK, Zemp L, Yu A, Poch MA, Spiess PE, Gilbert SM, Sexton WJ, Li R. Impact of surgical margin and extent of lymphadenectomy on oncologic outcomes in plasmacytoid urothelial carcinoma. Urol Oncol. 2023 Sep.41(9):389.e7-389.e13. Pubmedid: 36959058.
• Li R, Naidu S, Fan W, Rose K, Huelster H, Grass GD, Vosoughi A, Dhillon J, Kim Y, Gupta S, Jain RK, Zhang J, Zemp L, Yu A, Poch MA, Spiess PE, Pow-Sang J, Gilbert SM, Sexton WJ. Effectiveness of perioperative chemotherapy and radical cystectomy in treating bladder cancer. Urol Oncol. 2023 Nov.41(11):457.e17-457.e24. Pubmedid: 37880002.
• Murthy PB, Naidu S, Davaro F, Spiess PE, Zemp L, Poch M, Jain R, Vosoughi A, Grass GD, Yu A, Sexton WJ, Gilbert SM, Li R. Survival Benefits of Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Positive Soft Tissue Surgical Margins Following Radical Cystectomy in Bladder Cancer with Extravesical Extension. Curr Oncol. 2023 Mar.30(3):3223-3231. Pubmedid: 36975458. Pmcid: PMC10046994.
• Moses KA, Sprenkle PC, Bahler C, Box G, Carlsson SV, Catalona WJ, Dahl DM, Dall'Era M, Davis JW, Drake BF, Epstein JI, Etzioni RB, Farrington TA, Garraway IP, Jarrard D, Kauffman E, Kaye D, Kibel AS, LaGrange CA, Maroni P, Ponsky L, Reys B, Salami SS, Sanchez A, Seibert TM, Shaneyfelt TM, Smaldone MC, Sonn G, Tyson MD, Vapiwala N, Wake R, Washington S, Yu A, Yuh B, Berardi RA, Freedman-Cass DA. NCCN Guidelines® Insights: Prostate Cancer Early Detection, Version 1.2023. J Natl Compr Canc Ne. 2023 Mar.21(3):236-246. Pubmedid: 36898362.
• Fink AKC, DeRenzis AC, Awasthi S, Jahan N, Johnstone PAS, Pow-Sang J, Torres-Roca J, Grass D, Fernandez D, Naghavi A, Tan S, Manley B, Li R, Poch M, Yu A, Little N, Bass E, Ercole CE, Katsoulakis E, Burri R, Smith R, Stanley NB, Vadaparampil ST, Yamoah K. Identifying and overcoming barriers to participation of minority populations in clinical trials: Lessons learned from the VanDAAM study. Cancer Med. 2023 Jan.12(2):1869-1877. Pubmedid: 35796421. Pmcid: PMC9883445.
• Yu A, Chahoud J, Necchi A, Spiess PE. The Evolving Landscape of Viral, Immune, and Molecular Biomarkers in Penile Cancer. Urol Clin North Am. 2023 Feb.50(1):145-150. Pubmedid: 36424078.
• Rose KM, Narang G, Rosen G, Labatte C, Dumitrascu C, Campagna J, Yu A, Manley BJ, Spiess PE, Li R, Adibi M, Murray KS, Sexton WJ, Humphreys MR. Antegrade administration of mitomycin gel for upper tract urothelial carcinoma via percutaneous nephrostomy tube: a multi-institutional retrospective cohort study. BJU Int. 2023 Apr.131(4):471-476. Pubmedid: 36285629.
• Aydin AM, Cheriyan SK, Reich R, Hajiran A, Peyton CC, Zemp L, Yu A, Li R, Poch MA, Spiess PE, Jain R, Zhang J, Sexton WJ, Gilbert SM. Comparative analysis of three vs. four cycles of neoadjuvant gemcitabine and cisplatin for muscle invasive bladder cancer. Urol Oncol. 2022 Oct.40(10):453.e19-453.e26. Pubmedid: 35811208.
• Yu A, Yamany T, Mojtahed A, Hanna N, Nicaise E, Harisinghani M, Wu CL, Dahl DM, Wszolek M, Blute ML, Feldman AS. Combination MRI-targeted and systematic prostate biopsy may overestimate gleason grade on final surgical pathology and impact risk stratification. Urol Oncol. 2022 Feb.40(2):59.e1-59.e5. Pubmedid: 34544650.
• Rishi A, Saini AS, Spiess PE, Yu A, Fernandez DC, Johnstone PAS, Naghavi AO. Novel portable apparatus for outpatient high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy in penile cancer. Brachytherapy. 2022 Aug.21(6):839-847. Pubmedid: 35915039.
• Kumar NB, Hogue S, Pow-Sang J, Poch M, Manley BJ, Li R, Dhillon J, Yu A, Byrd DA. Effects of Green Tea Catechins on Prostate Cancer Chemoprevention: The Role of the Gut Microbiome. Cancers (Basel). 2022 Aug.14(16). Pubmedid: 36010981. Pmcid: PMC9406482.
• Aydin AM, Reich RR, Cao B, Cheriyan SK, Hajiran A, Zemp L, Yu A, Poch MA, Sexton WJ, Li R, Gilbert SM. Clinical indications for necessary and discretionary hospital readmissions after radical cystectomy. Urol Oncol. 2022 Apr.40(4):164.e1-164.e7. Pubmedid: 34629281. Pmcid: PMC8960322.
• Yu A, Wang Y, Mossanen M, Preston M, Carvalho FL, Chung BI, Chang SL. Robotic-assisted radical cystectomy is associated with lower perioperative mortality in octogenarians. Urol Oncol. 2022 Apr.40(4):163.e19-163.e23. Pubmedid: 34602361.
• Chakiryan N, Yu A. Editorial Comment. J Urol. 2021 Sep.206(3):575-576. Pubmedid: 34105989.
• Yu A, Cooke AB, Scheffler P, Doonan RJ, Daskalopoulou SS. Alcohol Exerts a Shifted U-Shaped Effect on Central Blood Pressure in Young Adults. J Gen Intern Med. 2021 Oct.36(10):2975-2981. Pubmedid: 33674917. Pmcid: PMC8481396.
• Yu A, Zlatev DV, Blute ML. Revisiting the role of lymph node dissection in renal cell carcinoma. Ann Transl Med. 2019 Jul.7(Suppl 3):S91. Pubmedid: 31576299. Pmcid: PMC6685843.
• Yu A, Mansure JJ, Solanki S, Siemens DR, Koti M, Dias ABT, Burnier MM, Brimo F, Kassouf W. Presence of lymphocytic infiltrate cytotoxic T lymphocyte CD3+, CD8+, and immunoscore as prognostic marker in patients after radical cystectomy. PLoS One. 2018 Oct.13(10):e0205746. Pubmedid: 30308033. Pmcid: PMC6181418.
• Yu A, Capolicchio JP. A case of epidermoid median raphe cyst traversing the corpora cavernosa. Can Urol Assoc J. 2017 Mar.11(3-4):E119-E121. Pubmedid: 28360959. Pmcid: PMC5365388.
• Yu A, Campeau L. Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell therapy for voiding dysfunction. Curr Urol Rep. 2015 Jul.16(7):49. Pubmedid: 26025492.
• Elkoushy MA, Yu AX, Tabah R, Payne RJ, Dragomir A, Andonian S. Determinants of urolithiasis before and after parathyroidectomy in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism. Urology. 2014 Jul.84(1):22-26. Pubmedid: 24703459.
• Yu A, Giannone T, Scheffler P, Doonan RJ, Egiziano G, Gomez YH, Papaioannou TG, Daskalopoulou SS. The effect of oral contraceptive pills and the natural menstrual cYCLe on arterial stiffness and hemodynamICs (CYCLIC). J Hypertens. 2014 Jan.32(1):100-107. Pubmedid: 24326993.
• Scheffler P, Muccio S, Egiziano G, Doonan RJ, Yu A, Carli F, Daskalopoulou SS. Heart rate variability exhibits complication-dependent changes postsurgery. Angiology. 2013 Nov.64(8):597-603. Pubmedid: 23091271.
• Yu A, Shahrour W, Andonian S. Simultaneous bilateral tubeless percutaneous nephrolithotomy: A report of 2 cases and review of the literature. Can Urol Assoc J. 2012 Aug.6(4):E162-E166. Pubmedid: 23093570. Pmcid: PMC3430725.
• Doonan RJ, Scheffler P, Yu A, Egiziano G, Mutter A, Bacon S, Carli F, Daskalopoulos ME, Daskalopoulou SS. Altered arterial stiffness and subendocardial viability ratio in young healthy light smokers after acute exercise. PLoS One. 2011 Oct.6(10):e26151. Pubmedid: 22028821. Pmcid: PMC3189960.

• Title: Understanding the role of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positron-emission tomography (PET) to evaluate treatment response after prostate focal therapy
  Award Number: YUO-RFA Grant
  Sponsor: Society of Urologic Oncology
  Yu, A. (PD/PI)