Orin Bloch, M.D., FAANS
Director, UC Davis Brain Tumor Program
Professor, Department of Neurological Surgery
To see if Orin Bloch is accepting new patients, or for assistance finding a UC Davis doctor, please call 800-2-UCDAVIS (800-282-3284).
Locations and Contact
UC Davis Midtown Ambulatory Care Center
Neurosurgery Clinic
3160 Folsom Blvd
Sacramento, CA 95816
Lawrence J. Ellison Ambulatory Care Center
Lawrence J. Ellison Ambulatory Care Center
4860 Y St.
Sacramento, CA 95817
Additional Numbers
Clinic Phone
Clinic Phone
Clinic Fax
Clinic Fax
Physician Referrals
Philosophy of Care
I strive to provide the best possible treatment for each patient based on their individual needs. Every patient is unique with their own goals, expectations, and fears. I utilize a personalized approach combining surgery, radiation, and drug therapy individually tailored to each patient, and based on the highest quality evidence as well as cutting-edge science. There is no such thing as an untreatable tumor. Working as a team, we can always find treatment options that fit our patients' unique situation.
Clinical Interests
Dr. Bloch specializes in neurosurgical oncology and is internationally recognized for the management of patients with brain tumors. His clinical practice is focused on innovative treatments for benign and malignant tumors of the brain and skull base. His surgical expertisDr. Bloch’s research is focused on innovative new medical and surgical therapies for the treatment of primary and metastatic cancer of the brain. His laboratory studies mechanisms of immune resistance in patients with cancer to identify new targets to enhance brain tumor immunotherapy. In the operating room, his team is developing new technologies for minimally invasive tumor detection and treatment utilizing fluorescence microscopy and laser ablation. This includes awake craniotomies for eloquent tumors, minimally invasive brain surgery, stereotactic laser ablation for tumors, and stereotactic radiosurgery. He directs the mult-disciplinary brain tumor program at UC Davis and is the leader of the neuro-oncology disease team at the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center.
In addition to the surgical treatment of brain tumors, Dr. Bloch is a leader in the development of immunotherapy for primary and metastatic tumors of the brain. He directs the UC Davis Brain Tumor Immunotherapy Laboratory and has been the principal investigator of multiple national clinical trials of immunotherapy for gliomas. Dr. Bloch has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and book-chapters, and served on the editorial board or as a reviewer for numerous journals. He has been a member of the executive committee of the AANS/CNS Joint Sections on Tumors since 2014.
Research/Academic Interests
Dr. Bloch’s research is focused on innovative new medical and surgical therapies for the treatment of primary and metastatic cancer of the brain. His laboratory studies mechanisms of immune resistance in patients with cancer to identify new targets to enhance brain tumor immunotherapy. He is a leader in the development of new technologies for brain tumor surgery, including advances in stereotactic image-guided navigation, fluorescence microscopy, and minimally-invasive laser ablation. Dr. Bloch is the leader of the Brain Tumor Innovations group and the co-director of the Biomedical Technology Program at the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center.
He strives to provide the best possible treatment for each patient based on their individual needs and priorities. Every patient is unique with their own goals, expectations, and fears. I utilize a personalized, multi-disciplinary approach combining surgery, radiation, and drug therapy as appropriate for each patient, based on the highest quality evidence and cutting-edge science. There is no such thing as an untreatable tumor. Not all patients can be cured, but quality of life can always be addressed.
Division
Neurological Surgery
Center/Program Affiliation
Undergraduate School
B.S., Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia PA 2001
Medical School
M.D., UC San Francisco, San Francisco CA 2006
Internship
Surgery, UC San Francisco, San Francisco CA 2006-2007
Residency
Neurological Surgery, UC San Francisco, San Francisco CA 2007-2012
Fellowship
Cancer Immunology, UC San Francisco, San Francisco CA 2012-2013
Diamond Doc Award, UC Davis, 2021, 2022
Ivan Ciric Distinguished Educator Award, Northwestern University, Dept of Neurosurgery, 2018,
Ronald L. Bittner Award, American Association of Neurological Surgeons, 2013,
Stryker Neuro-Oncology Award, Congress of Neurological Surgeons, 2011,
Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society, UCSF, 2005,
Alfonso-García A, Zhou X, Bec J, Anbunesan SN, Fereidouni F, Jin LW, Lee HS, Bloch O, Marcu L. First in patient assessment of brain tumor infiltrative margins using simultaneous time-resolved measurements of 5-ALA-induced PpIX fluorescence and tissue autofluorescence. J Biomed Opt. 2022 Feb;27(2):020501. doi:10.1117/1.JBO.27.2.020501. PMID:35112514.
Li YD, Lamano JB, Lamano JB, Quaggin-Smith J, Veliceasa D, Kaur G, Biyashev D, Unruh D, Bloch O. Tumor-induced peripheral immunosuppression promotes brain metastasis in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Cancer Immunol Immunother. 2019 Sep;68(9):1501-1513. doi:10.1007/s00262-019-02384-y. Epub 2019 Sep 5. PMID:31489465.
Li YD, Lamano JB, Kaur G, Lamano JB, Veliceasa D, Biyashev D, Kruser T, Bloch O. Lymphopenia predicts response to stereotactic radiosurgery in lung cancer patients with brain metastases. J Neurooncol. 2019 Jun;143(2):337-347. doi:10.1007/s11060-019-03169-0. Epub 2019 Apr 13. PMID:30982197.
Lamano JB, Lamano JB, Li YD, DiDomenico JD, Choy W, Veliceasa D, Oyon DE, Fakurnejad S, Ampie L, Kesavabhotla K, Kaur R, Kaur G, Biyashev D, Unruh DJ, Horbinski CM, James CD, Parsa AT, Bloch O. Glioblastoma-Derived IL6 Induces Immunosuppressive Peripheral Myeloid Cell PD-L1 and Promotes Tumor Growth. Clin Cancer Res. 2019 Jun 15;25(12):3643-3657. doi:10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-18-2402. Epub 2019 Mar 1. PMID:30824583.
DiDomenico J, Lamano JB, Oyon D, Li Y, Veliceasa D, Kaur G, Ampie L, Choy W, Lamano JB, Bloch O. The immune checkpoint protein PD-L1 induces and maintains regulatory T cells in glioblastoma. Oncoimmunology. 2018 Apr 25;7(7):e1448329. doi:10.1080/2162402X.2018.1448329. PMID:29900065.
Bloch O, Lim M, Sughrue ME, Komotar RJ, Abrahams JM, O'Rourke DM, D'Ambrosio A, Bruce JN, Parsa AT. Autologous Heat Shock Protein Peptide Vaccination for Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma: Impact of Peripheral PD-L1 Expression on Response to Therapy. Clin Cancer Res. 2017 Jul 15;23(14):3575-3584. doi:10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-16-1369. Epub 2017 Feb 13. PMID:28193626.
Lamano JB, Ampie L, Choy W, Kesavabhotla K, DiDomenico JD, Oyon DE, Parsa AT, Bloch O. Immunomonitoring in glioma immunotherapy: current status and future perspectives. J Neurooncol. 2016 Mar;127(1):1-13. doi:10.1007/s11060-015-2018-4. Epub 2015 Dec 5. PMID:26638171.
Bloch O, Crane CA, Fuks Y, Kaur R, Aghi MK, Berger MS, Butowski NA, Chang SM, Clarke JL, McDermott MW, Prados MD, Sloan AE, Bruce JN, Parsa AT. Heat-shock protein peptide complex-96 vaccination for recurrent glioblastoma: a phase II, single-arm trial. Neuro Oncol. 2014 Jan;16(2):274-9. doi:10.1093/neuonc/not203. Epub 2013 Dec 12. PMID:24335700.
Bloch O, Crane CA, Kaur R, Safaee M, Rutkowski MJ, Parsa AT. Gliomas promote immunosuppression through induction of B7-H1 expression in tumor-associated macrophages. Clin Cancer Res. 2013 Jun 15;19(12):3165-75. doi:10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-12-3314. Epub 2013 Apr 23. PMID:23613317.
For a complete list of Dr. Bloch's publications, please click here.