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Pictured: Avni Desai

Avni Desai, MD

Gastrointestinal Medical Oncologist

4.9 | 306 reviews

Areas of Expertise

Conditions I Treat

  • Gastrointestinal cancers and conditions
  • Pancreatic cancer
  • Colon cancer
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Dr. Desai's Office Information
Languages: English
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Get to Know Me

I am a board-certified internist, medical oncologist, and hematologist specializing in treating gastrointestinal malignancies, including colorectal, pancreatobiliary, and gastroesophageal cancers.

I regularly participate in Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center’s Colorectal and Hepatobiliary Disease Management Team meetings, in which patients’ treatment is discussed by a multidisciplinary team.

Read more

I see patients at MSK Commack, on Long Island, where my goal is to provide patients with high-quality care close to home.

In addition to providing patients with a range of standard treatment options, I enroll patients in clinical trials for newer therapies and refer patients to MSK’s Manhattan campus for any services or clinical trials that may not be available at MSK Commack. 

Through working closely with surgeons at MSK’s Manhattan location as well as radiation oncologists, radiologists, oncology nurses, nutritionists, and social workers at MSK Commack, I provide patients with individualized treatment plans.

 

What I Do at MSK

A gastrointestinal (GAS-troh-in-TES-tih-nul) medical oncologist is a cancer doctor who specializes in gastrointestinal (GI) cancers. This includes anal, colorectal, esophageal, gastric (stomach), liver, and pancreatic cancers, as well as GI stromal tumors and neuroendocrine tumors.

  • Associate Attending Physician
Areas of Expertise

Conditions I Treat

  • Gastrointestinal cancers and conditions
  • Pancreatic cancer
  • Colon cancer
  • Rectal cancer
  • Esophageal cancers and conditions
Education & Honors

Education

  • MD, Tufts University School of Medicine

Residencies

  • Internal Medicine - George Washington University Hospital

Fellowships

  • Hematology/Oncology - Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Board Certifications

  • Medical Oncology
  • Hematology

Insurance Information

Understanding your insurance options is an important part of managing your cancer care. We have relationships with many common healthcare providers and plans.

Aetna

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO PPO, POS, Transplant

Aetna Medicare Advantage (MTA and NYC retirees only)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

Anthem BCBS and other BCBS licensee plans

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

See updates

Anthem BCBS Health Plus

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

See updates

Blue Cross Blue Shield Federal Employee Program

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, PPO

See updates

Blue Cross Blue Shield states outside of NY/NJ

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO PPO, POS

See updates

Carrum Health

In Network Coverage Type
Supplemental

Cigna

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO

Connecticare

In Network Coverage Type
POS, EPO, HMO

First Health

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

Straight NJ Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Straight NY Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Emblem

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Emblem to learn more.

Emblem Essential

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Emblem Medicare Advantage (Medicare Choice PPO Network and VIP Prime Network Only)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO

Empire Essential

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Empire Plan / NYSHIP (Blue Cross/UnitedHealthcare split plan)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

See updates

Fidelis

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO

Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Fidelis to learn more.

Fidelis Managed Medicaid & HARP

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Fidelis Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Healthfirst

In Network Coverage Type
EPO, HMO, PPO, POS

Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Healthfirst to learn more.

Healthfirst Managed Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Healthfirst Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, PPO

Healthsmart

In Network Coverage Type
PPO EPO

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey (HMO)

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

See updates

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey (PPO)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

See updates

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey Omnia Tier I (EPO)

In Network Coverage Type
EPO

See updates

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey Omnia Tier II (EPO)

In Network Coverage Type
EPO

See updates

Horizon Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO

Husky CT Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Magnacare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO

Medicare Part A&B (traditional Medicare)

In Network Coverage Type
Federal Government

Metroplus

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

City Employee Health Plans (Gold and Gold Care)

Multiplan/Beech Street/PHCS

In Network Coverage Type
Supplemental

MVP

In Network Coverage Type
PPO/OAP

Non-Participating Plans with Out of Network Benefits

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

NYC Medicare Advantage Plus for City Employees

In Network Coverage Type
TBD

Oscar

In Network Coverage Type
HMO/EPO

Oxford

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, EPO

World Trade Center Health Program (WTC)

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Qualcare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO

Tricare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO

UMR

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS

United Healthcare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO

Don't see your carrier or plan? We can help you understand your coverage.

If you don't have health insurance or are worried that your care may not be fully covered, our financial assistance programs may be able to help.

If you have questions about insurance, call us at 646-497-9176.

Make an Appointment

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Current Patients
Request an appointment by logging in to MSK MyChart or calling your Care Team. If you are not enrolled in MSK MyChart, ask your Care Team to send you an invitation. You can also go to MSK MyChart and select “Sign up now.”

Contact and Location

Dr. Desai sees patients at one location.

Office Phone
Location
Commack, NY
Memorial Sloan Kettering Commack Nonna’s Garden Foundation Center
650 Commack Road Commack NY 11725
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Colleagues

Doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering work as teams, with specialists from all different areas. This allows us to consider all your needs together, and to give you the best possible care.

 

See all Gastrointestinal Oncology Service doctors

Clinical Trials

Smiling doctors in the lab
Find a Clinical Trial for You

Memorial Sloan Kettering's doctors and scientists are constantly developing new treatments for cancer. MSK is typically running hundreds of clinical trials at a given time.

You may be able to participate in a clinical trial even if you are new to MSK. Search our online directory to find trial information and see more about who can participate.

Search clinical trials

Patient Reviews

Your trust is our main concern

We strive to keep reviews trustworthy, honest and fair. Learn more about our patient experience reviews.

4.9 306 reviews

  • 4.9 Provider's Explanations Easy to Understand
  • 4.9 Trusts Provider with Care
  • 4.9 Provider Listened Carefully
  • 4.9 Likelihood of Recommending Provider
Mar 11, 2025

First impression is very positive. Personal very nice. Dr.Desai looks very knowledgeable, listening to you and explaining all you want to know.

Mar 5, 2025

Dr. Desai is very caring, and is efficient in sharing information and always asks if I have any questions for her. She takes her time and makes me feel valued.

Mar 4, 2025

Dr. Desai was excellent. She was very caring, explained everything so we could understand, answered all our questions and made my experience amazing. And I left there feeling very happy and confident that I had the best care that I could have had.

Mar 4, 2025

I am very grateful to have met Dr. Desai. She was very informative about the situation and informed me to the best of her knowledge. Thanks, I will definitely get in touch with her if I have more questions. Thank you.

Feb 26, 2025

Very helpful and knowledgeable concerning my medical needs.

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Disclosures

Doctors and faculty members often work with pharmaceutical, device, biotechnology, and life sciences companies, and other organizations outside of MSK, to find safe and effective cancer treatments, to improve patient care, and to educate the health care community.

MSK requires doctors and faculty members to report (“disclose”) the relationships and financial interests they have with external entities. As a commitment to transparency with our community, we make that information available to the public.

Avni Desai discloses the following relationships and financial interests:

No disclosures meeting criteria for time period


If you’re a patient at MSK and would like more information about your doctor’s external relationships, please talk with your doctor.

The information published here is a complement to other publicly reported data and is for a specific annual disclosure period. There may be differences between information on this and other public sites as a result of different reporting periods and/or the various ways relationships and financial interests are categorized by organizations that publish such data.

This page and data include information for a specific MSK annual disclosure period (January 1, 2023 through disclosure submission in spring 2024). This data reflects interests that may or may not still exist. This data is updated annually.

Learn more about MSK’s COI policies here. For questions regarding MSK’s COI-related policies and procedures, email MSK’s Compliance Office at ecoi@mskcc.org.


View all disclosures