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  • Overview

    Cancer Focus:
    Cervical Cancer, Endometrial (Uterine) Cancer, Ovarian Cancer, Vaginal Cancer, Vulvar Cancer

    Dr. Avila received her MD degree from the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, New Mexico, and a Master’s in Public Health from the University of Texas School of Public Health in Houston. She completed a Residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center. She most recently completed a Fellowship in Gynecologic Oncology at The University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Avila’s clinical focus is gynecologic malignancies.  She specializes in complex surgical approaches, including minimally invasive techniques. She also is interested in HPV-driven malignancies. 

  • Participating Trials

    Clinical Trial 21749
    Phase 1/2, Open-Label, Dose Escalation and Dose Expansion Study of TransCon TLR7/8 Agonist Alone or in Combination with Pembrolizumab in Participants with Locally Advanced or Metastatic Solid Tumor Malignancies
    Condition: Gynecological Tumor
    Intervention: Pembrolizumab (Keytruda); TransCon TLR7/8 Agonist ()
    Status: Open

    If you believe you are eligible for one of these trials or studies, please call
    813-745-6100 or toll-free 1-800-679-0775.

  • Publications

    • Avila M, Funston JR, Hoffman MS. Robotic radical stump trachelectomy: Critical steps of a radical procedure without normal anatomical landmarks. Gynecol Oncol Rep. 2024 Jun.53:101384. Pubmedid: 38633672. Pmcid: PMC11021824.
    • Pham MM, Avila M, Hinchcliff E, Westin SN. Clinical Application of Poly(ADP-Ribose) Polymerase (PARP) Inhibitors in Ovarian Cancer. Cancer Treat Res. 2023 Nov.186:71-89. Pubmedid: 37978131.
    • Batman S, Rauh-Hain JA, Grinsfelder MO, Harrison R, Avila M, Cun H, How JA, Tandon N, Wang X, Hinchcliff E, Jazaeri AA, Schmeler KM. Exceptional Response to Pembrolizumab for Treatment of Metastatic Chemorefractory Endometrial Carcinoma in a Patient with Lynch Syndrome: A Case Report. Case Rep Oncol. 2023 Apr.16(1):273-278. Pubmedid: 37123608. Pmcid: PMC10134052.
    • Avila M, Grinsfelder MO, Pham M, Westin SN. Targeting the PI3K Pathway in Gynecologic Malignancies. Curr Oncol Rep. 2022 Dec.24(12):1669-1676. Pubmedid: 36401704.
    • Pham MM, Hinchcliff E, Avila M, Westin SN. The Clinical Challenges, Trials, and Errors of Combatting Poly(ADP-Ribose) Polymerase Inhibitors Resistance. Cancer J. 2021 Nov.27(6):491-500. Pubmedid: 34904812. Pmcid: PMC9255699.
    • Kurnit KC, Avila M, Hinchcliff EM, Coleman RL, Westin SN. PARP inhibition in the ovarian cancer patient: Current approvals and future directions. Pharmacol Ther. 2020 Sep.213:107588. Pubmedid: 32450190. Pmcid: PMC8331065.
    • Lentz SE, Salyer CV, Dontsi M, Armstrong MA, Hoodfar E, Alvarado MM, Avila M, Nguyen NT, Powell CB. Comparison of two Lynch screening strategies in endometrial cancer in a California health system. Gynecol Oncol. 2020 Jul.158(1):158-166. Pubmedid: 32386910.
    • Avila M, Meric-Bernstam F. Next-generation sequencing for the general cancer patient. Clin Adv Hematol Oncol. 2019 Aug.17(8):447-454. Pubmedid: 31449513. Pmcid: PMC6739831.
    • Avila M, Funston JR, Axtell AA, Lentz SE. Preoperative Vaginal Metronidazole Decreases the Risk of Pelvic Infections After Radical Robotic Hysterectomy. Int J Gynecol Cancer. 2017 Oct.27(8):1783-1787. Pubmedid: 28763367.
    • Editor, Avila M. Principles and Practice of Gynecologic Oncology Handbook, Chapter 6: The Vagina. 3rd edition. Philadelphia (PA): Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. c2021. 122 p.
    • Editor, Avila M. Principles and Practice of Gynecologic Oncology Handbook, Chapter 5: The Vulva. 3rd edition. Philadelphia (PA): Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. c2021. 96 p.
  • Patient Comments

    Overall Satisfaction

    4.8

    59 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 survey

     

    Comments

    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.

    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.

    Not all providers will have a star rating or comments. In order to ensure accuracy of our ratings, we only display ratings for providers who have a minimum of 30 completed from the previous 12 months.

    Learn more about our patient comments

    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:

    • The provider has not yet received the minimum number of patient satisfaction surveys to be eligible for display. We require a minimum of 30 surveys before we post results to ensure that the rating is statistically reliable and a true reflection of patient satisfaction.
    • He or she may be a researcher or other type of provider that does not see patients.
    • The provider practices in a specialty or office that does not use the specified surveys currently used for these ratings.

    Learn more about our patient satisfaction survey, ratings and comments

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