Carlos Ayala-Navarro, MD
Carlos Ayala-Navarro, MD
Specialty: Surgery
Program: Gastrointestinal Surgical Oncology and Gastroenterology
Language(s): English, Spanish
-
Overview
clinical instructor in the Gastrointestinal Oncology Program at Moffitt Cancer Center. He specializes in the surgical management of hepatobiliary and gastrointestinal malignancies, including cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer), gallbladder cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma (primary liver cancer), colorectal liver metastases (colorectal cancer that has spread to the liver), pancreatic adenocarcinoma, and neuroendocrine tumors of the small bowel.
His surgical expertise includes open and robotic liver resections, complex liver and pancreatic operations involving vascular resection and reconstruction, and combined multiorgan resections. He also incorporates advanced treatment strategies, including portal vein embolization, liver venous deprivation, and liver-directed therapies, to optimize surgical outcomes and expand treatment options for patients with complex malignancies. Dr. Ayala-Navarro works closely with Moffitt's multidisciplinary team of gastrointestinal cancer specialists to develop individualized, comprehensive treatment plans tailored to each patient's diagnosis and needs.
He earned his combined medical and doctoral degrees (MD/PhD) from the University of Minnesota, where his doctoral research investigated the role of Rab GTPases, key regulators of intracellular trafficking, in autophagy and mTOR signaling. He completed his general surgery residency at Stanford University, where he also pursued postdoctoral research using cancer cell lines and patient-derived tumor models to investigate biliary tract cancers and appendiceal mucinous neoplasms with peritoneal metastases. He subsequently completed his Complex General Surgical Oncology fellowship at Moffitt Cancer Center.
In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Ayala-Navarro is actively involved in clinical and translational research focused on hepatobiliary and gastrointestinal cancers, particularly intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and colorectal liver metastases. His research investigates how tumor genetic alterations and the surrounding tumor microenvironment influence cancer recurrence, treatment resistance, and response to therapy. Through the integration of patient-derived tumor models and molecular analyses, his work aims to identify mechanisms of disease progression and develop more personalized therapeutic strategies.
Originally from Puerto Rico, Dr. Ayala-Navarro is fluent in English and Spanish. He welcomes new patients and offers second-opinion consultations, including virtual visits, to discuss diagnoses, treatment
-
Patient Comments
0 patients rated this provider
The Provider Rating is an average of all responses to specific care provider-related questions from our nationally-recognized Press Ganey Patient Satisfaction Survey. Responses are measured on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the best score.
Patients that are treated in outpatient or hospital environments may receive different surveys, and the volume of responses will vary by question.
Learn more about our patient satisfaction surveyComments
Comments are gathered from specific care provider-related questions from our Patient Satisfaction Survey . The comments are submitted by patients and reflect their views and opinions. Patients are de-identified for confidentiality and patient privacy.
Learn more about our patient comments
We post both positive and negative comments from the surveys. We do not post comments that are libelous, slanderous, profane, irrelevant or otherwise inappropriate or may risk the privacy of our patients. A “[…]” in the comments below indicates de-identified patient information or comments that are unrelated to the patient’s experience with the visit to the provider, such as comments related to another provider, about the survey itself, or otherwise completely off-topic.
Provider Ratings and comments are gathered from our nationally-recognized Press Ganey Patient Satisfaction Survey. If a provider does not have ratings or comments listed it can be for several reasons, including:
Learn more about our patient satisfaction survey, ratings and comments