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George Z. Li

George Z. Li, MD

Surgeon

My Role at MSK

Areas of Expertise

My Specialties

  • Soft Tissue Sarcoma
  • Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor
  • Gastric Cancer
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Dr. Li's Office Information
Languages: English
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About Me

What I Do at MSK
  • Assistant Attending Surgeon
Get To Know Me

I am a surgical oncologist who cares for people with soft tissue sarcoma and stomach (gastric) cancer. I see patients in both our Manhattan and Nassau offices.

A new cancer diagnosis can be overwhelming and can cause much anxiety and uncertainty. From my patients’ first visit, I am dedicated to ensuring that everyone who comes to me for care has a clear understanding of their disease and all treatment options. I then partner with my patients to create a care plan tailored to their specific type of cancer, as well as their individual goals and preferences. 

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As a member of the Sarcoma Disease Management Team at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), I work with colleagues across medical specialties, like medical oncology, surgery, and pathology. We review each patient’s case as a team. This approach gives our patients the expertise not just of their oncologist, but of MSK as a whole. 

There are over 80 different subtypes of soft tissue sarcoma. Each subtype has unique behaviors that affect how we treat it. Our goal is to provide the best chance for cure while reducing the chance for any side effects from treatment. 

To that end, I perform organ-preserving and limb-sparing operations for tumors whenever it is safe to do so. I also work closely with medical and radiation oncologists to give surgery with other treatments that may be needed, such as chemotherapy or radiation, in the most effective way possible.

I am also a member of MSK’s Gastric Disease Management Team. Like people with sarcoma, patients with stomach cancer require a multi-specialty approach. I am fortunate to work with gastroenterologists, pathologists, and medical oncologists with expertise in this treating this disease. 

As a surgeon, my goal again is to maximize the chance for cure while minimizing any impact on short- or long-term quality of life. Surgery is often a part of treatment for stomach cancer. When possible, I offer minimally invasive robotic-assisted surgery to help speed up recovery.   

In addition to caring for patients, I am actively involved in laboratory research focused on specific sarcoma subtypes, such as myxoid liposarcoma, myxofibrosarcoma, and undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma. By analyzing patient tumor samples for potential genetic vulnerabilities and using laboratory models to test drugs directed at these vulnerabilities, we hope to find new and improved treatments for these sarcomas.

My Role at MSK

A surgeon is a doctor with special training in many kinds of surgery.

Areas of Expertise

My Specialties

  • Soft Tissue Sarcoma
  • Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor
  • Gastric Cancer
Education & Honors

Education

  • MD, Duke University

Residencies

  • General Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital

Awards and Honors

  • Sarcoma Fellow, Kristen Ann Carr Fund (2022)
  • Excellence in Teaching Award, Harvard Medical School (2019)

Fellowships

  • Complex General Surgical Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Board Certifications

  • Surgery

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 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

Anthem Blue Cross Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO, DSN

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

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

First Health

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

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

Straight NJ Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Straight NY Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Medicare Part A&B (traditional Medicare)

In Network Coverage Type
Federal Government

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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New Patients
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Current Patients
Request an appointment by logging on to MyMSK or calling your doctor’s office. If you aren’t registered for MyMSK, call 646-227-2593 for your Enrollment ID.

Contact and Location

Dr. Li sees patients at three locations.

Office Phone
Location
New York, NY
Uniondale, NY
Rockefeller Outpatient Pavilion
160 East 53rd Street New York NY 10022
Get Directions
Memorial Sloan Kettering Nassau
1101 Hempstead Turnpike Uniondale NY 11553
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Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
1275 York Avenue New York NY 10065
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Looking to see a doctor at a different location? See all MSK locations.

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 Gastric and Mixed Tumor 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

Research and Publications

View a list of Dr. Li’s publications.

Li GZ, Okada T, Kim YM, Agaram NP, Sanchez-Vega F, Shen Y, Tsubokawa N, Rios J, Martin AS, Dickson MA, Qin LX, Socci ND, Singer S. Rb and p53-Deficient Myxofibrosarcoma and Undifferentiated Pleomorphic Sarcoma Require Skp2 for Survival. Cancer Res. 2020 Jun 15;80(12):2461-2471. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-19-1269. Epub 2020 Mar 11.

Fairweather M, Balachandran VP, Li GZ, Bertagnolli MM, Antonescu C, Tap W, Singer S, DeMatteo RP, Raut CP. Cytoreductive Surgery for Metastatic Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors Treated With Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors: A 2-institutional Analysis. Ann Surg. 2018 Aug;268(2):296-302. doi: 10.1097/SLA.0000000000002281.

Read more

Li GZ, Doherty GM, Wang J. Surgical Management of Gastric Cancer: A Review. JAMA Surg. 2022 May 1;157(5):446-454. doi: 10.1001/jamasurg.2022.0182. PMID: 35319717.

Publications on PubMed

Visit PubMed for a full listing of Dr. Li’s journal articles. Pubmed is an online index of research papers and other articles from the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.

See all on PubMed

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.

George Z. Li 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 [email protected].


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