Dr. Matthew Ballo

Get to Know Dr. Matthew Ballo

Dr. Matthew Ballo is vice chair for regional oncology within the Department of Radiation Oncology at Cleveland Clinic. His clinical experience includes radiation treatment for mesothelioma, lung cancer and other cancers.

Dr. Ballo joined Cleveland Clinic after more than a decade at West Cancer Center & Research Institute in Tennessee. Before that, he spent 17 years at MD Anderson Cancer Center, where he progressed from resident to professor and later served as medical director of the Department of Radiation Oncology outreach program.

His work with mesothelioma includes helping introduce Tumor Treating Fields as a treatment option in the United States. In 2019, West Cancer Center became the first center in the country certified to prescribe the technology for malignant pleural mesothelioma. Dr. Ballo also treated the center’s first patient with the therapy.

Specialties of Dr. Ballo

• External beam radiation therapy
• Lung cancer
• Mesothelioma
• Radiation oncology
• Radiosurgery
• Tumor Treating Fields

Dr. Ballo’s Experience and Medical Education

• Cleveland Clinic, Vice Chair for Regional Oncology
• West Cancer Center & Research Institute, Former Medical Director
• University of Tennessee, Founding Chair of Radiation Oncology
• MD Anderson Cancer Center, Former Medical Director of Radiation Oncology Outreach
• MD Anderson Cancer Center (Radiation Oncology Residency)
• Mount Sinai Medical Center (Internship)
• Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine (M.D.)
• Oberlin College (B.A.)

Awards and Certifications

• American Board of Radiology, Radiation Oncology
• Excellence in Cancer Patient Education Award, American Association for Cancer Education, 2011
• Fellow, American College of Radiology

Why Choose Dr. Matthew Ballo for Mesothelioma

Dr. Ballo’s background may be especially useful for people with mesothelioma who need radiation as part of a broader treatment plan. His experience spans major academic cancer centers and community-based programs, giving him perspective on how radiation fits alongside other treatments and how to coordinate care across specialists.

He has also spent much of his career focused on clinical quality, physician education and patient care. At Cleveland Clinic, his leadership role in regional oncology allows him to help support consistent radiation care across multiple locations while continuing to treat people with complex cancers.

Dr. Ballo’s Work With Tumor Treating Fields

When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Tumor Treating Fields for pleural mesothelioma in 2019, Dr. Ballo helped put the new treatment into clinical use at West Cancer Center. The therapy acts as a nonintrusive treatment that targets cancer cells using electrical fields. He treated the center’s first patient with the technology as part of a combination treatment with chemotherapy.

Dr. Ballo also co-authored research examining how TTFields could be incorporated into multidisciplinary cancer care. That work explored the technology across several solid tumors and helped define how it could complement established treatments rather than replace them.

“We’re proud that West Cancer Center was the first to offer this therapy as part of combination treatment, giving another much-needed option to patients and their families,” Dr. Ballo said. “Many people with [malignant pleural mesothelioma] are not candidates for surgery, and approved nonsurgical treatments are very limited.”

Publications of Dr. Matthew Ballo

• Ballo, M.T. et al. (2026, November). Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields) Therapy for Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma in Older Adults: A Single Center Institutional Study. Retrieved from https://www.geriatriconcology.net/article/S1879-4068(26)00246-8/abstract
• Ballo, M.T. et al. (2024, March 2). Tumor-Treating Fields Dosimetry in Glioblastoma: Insights Into Treatment Planning, Optimization, and Dose-Response Relationships. Retrieved from https://academic.oup.com/noa/article/6/1/vdae032/7617846
• Ballo, M.T. et al. (2022, April). The Association of Age With Acute Toxicities in NRG Oncology Combined Modality Lower GI Cancer Trials. Retrieved from https://www.geriatriconcology.net/article/S1879-4068(21)00240-X/abstract
• Ballo, M.T. et al. (2019, August 23). Integration of Tumor-Treating Fields Into the Multidisciplinary Management of Patients With Solid Malignancies. Retrieved from https://academic.oup.com/oncolo/article/24/12/e1426/6439509
• Ballo, M.T. et al. (2019, August 1). Correlation of Tumor Treating Fields Dosimetry to Survival Outcomes in Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma: A Large-Scale Numerical Simulation-Based Analysis of Data From the Phase 3 EF-14 Randomized Trial. Retrieved from https://www.redjournal.org/article/S0360-3016(19)30629-7/fulltext