Dr. Leah Backhus

About Dr. Leah Backhus

Dr. Leah Backhus is a thoracic specialist and surgeon at Stanford Hospital. She focuses on thoracic oncology and minimally invasive techniques to improve mesothelioma treatment. 

In addition to being the chief of thoracic surgery at Palo Alto VA Medical Center, Backhus is also co-director of the Thoracic Surgery Clinical Research Program. She receives grant funding through the Veterans Affairs Administration and the National Institutes of Health.

Her research interests are imaging surveillance following lung cancer treatment and cancer survivorship. She is a member of the National Lung Cancer Roundtable of the American Cancer Society. 

Backhus is also on the Task Group on Health Equity. She also serves on the Society of Thoracic Surgeons Board of Directors.

As an educator, Dr. Backhus is the associate program director for the Thoracic Track Residency. She is the former chair of the ACGME Residency Review Committee for Thoracic Surgery.

Dr. Leah Backhus’ Specialties

• Esophageal Cancer
• Lung Cancer
• Lung Volume Reduction Surgery
• Mediastinal Masses
• Mesothelioma
• Minimally Invasive Surgery
• Pectus Excavatum
• Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery

Dr. Leah Backhus’ Experience and Medical Education

• Stanford University, Human Biology (A.B.)
• University of Washington, Health Services (MPH)
• UCLA Thoracic Surgery Residency, CA (Residency)
• LAC+USC Dept of Surgery, CA (Residency)
• University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, CA (M.D.)

Awards and Recognition

• Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society (Faculty Member)
• American Board of Surgery, General Surgery 
• American Board of Thoracic Surgery, Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery
• Extraordinary Women in Cardiothoracic Surgery Award, Society of Thoracic Surgeons, 2023
• Levi Watkins Innovation and Leadership Scholarship, Thoracic Surgery Foundation, 2019
• McGoon Award for Teaching in Thoracic Surgery, Thoracic Surgery Residents Association, 2019

Publications of Dr. Leah Backhus 

• Backhus, L. et al. (2023, December). Impact of guideline therapy on survival of patients with stage I-III epithelioid mesothelioma. Journal of Thoracic Disease.
• Backhus, L. et al. (2023, November). Impact of hyperthermic intrathoracic chemotherapy (HITHOC) during resection of pleural mesothelioma on patient survival. Journal of Thoracic Disease.
• Backhus, L. et al. (2023, September). Does delaying surgery following induction chemotherapy compromise survival in patients with mesothelioma? Journal of Cancer Metastasis and Treatment.
• Backhus, L. et al. (2023, June). The impact of neoadjuvant immunotherapy on perioperative outcomes and survival after esophagectomy for esophageal cancer. JTCVS Open.
• Backhus, L. et al. (2016, January). Imaging surveillance and survival for surgically resected non-small-cell lung cancer. Journal of Surgical Research.