Dr. Luis H. Camacho, MD, MPH

Expert Publications

• Clinical applications of retinoids in cancer medicine.
• Acute myeloid leukemia: a classification and treatment update.
• Pilot study of combination transcriptional modulation therapy with sodium phenylbutyrate and 5-azacytidine in patients with acute myeloid leukemia or myelodysplastic syndrome.
• Hepatic resection for metastatic melanoma: distinct patterns of recurrence and prognosis for ocular versus cutaneous disease.
• Biologic and immunomodulatory events after CTLA-4 blockade with ticilimumab in patients with advanced malignant melanoma.
• Retinoic acid-induced CD38 antigen promotes leukemia cells attachment and interferon-gamma/interleukin-1beta-dependent apoptosis of endothelial cells: implications in the etiology of retinoic acid syndrome.
• Improving the institutional submission and approval process for clinical research protocols in oncology.
• Novel therapies targeting the immune system: CTLA4 blockade with tremelimumab (CP-675,206), a fully human monoclonal antibody.
• Prospective assessment of the reliability, validity, and sensitivity to change of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Melanoma questionnaire.
• Spontaneous pneumocephalus associated with recurrent colorectal carcinoma.
• A phase I clinical trial of darinaparsin in patients with refractory solid tumors.
• A phase 1 study of hepatic arterial infusion of oxaliplatin in combination with systemic 5-fluorouracil, leucovorin, and bevacizumab in patients with advanced solid tumors metastatic to the liver.
• Phase I Dose Escalation Study of Sodium Stibogluconate (SSG), a Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase Inhibitor, Combined with Interferon Alpha for Patients with Solid Tumors.
• A Phase-1b study of tivantinib (ARQ 197) in adult patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and cirrhosis.
• A phase I dose escalation study of oral c-MET inhibitor tivantinib (ARQ 197) in combination with gemcitabine in patients with solid tumors.

Media Releases

Get to know Hematologist-Oncologist Dr. Luis H. Camacho, who serves patients in Houston, Texas.

Practicing general oncology and hematology, Dr. Camacho’s clinical interests include bone marrow aspiration, chemotherapy, and hematologic malignancy. He is the Director of The Center for Oncology & Blood Disorders, a private organization in Houston, Texas devoted to caring for patients diagnosed with cancer or disorders of the blood and blood forming organs.

“My philosophy is to approach patients with hope, with the understanding that cancer can be a fatal disease process. It is therefore critical that patients use their healing process as a spiritual journey with an enormous potential for individual learning and growth. We want cancer to be experienced as a great opportunity to love and receive love. To thank God for our loved ones, for each minute, every smile, any moment… and most importantly, for the life lived” expressed the doctor. 

Licensed to practice medicine in Texas, Dr. Camacho is affiliated with Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston Methodist Cancer Center, HCA Houston Healthcare Medical Center, and Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center.

With a special interest in melanoma, drug development, and immune-oncology, he has served as the principal investigator in more than 100 clinical trials regarding these specialty disciplines. He also serves as an advisor to several drug development groups in novel anti-cancer agents and immunotherapy of solid tumors.

Educated in Colombia, Dr. Camacho graduated with his medical degree from Nueva Granada Military University in 1988. Upon relocating to the United States, he performed his internship and residency in internal medicine at The George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C., followed by his fellowship in hematology and medical oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

With a focus on compassionate state-of-the-art cancer care and clinical research, he is board-certified in medical oncology by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM). The ABIM is a physician-led, non-profit, independent evaluation organization driven by doctors who want to achieve higher standards for better care in a rapidly changing world.

Associated with a number of international societies and organizations, Dr. Camacho is a member of the American College of Physicians and the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Hematology is the branch of medicine concerned with the study of the cause, prognosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases related to blood. Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer. A hematologist-oncologist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of cancer, malignant blood diseases such as leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma, and blood disorders such as iron-deficiency anemia, clotting abnormalities, hemophilia, and sickle-cell disease.

In addition to having co-authored over 100 national and international scientific abstracts, Dr. Camacho has published the results of his basic and clinical research experience in journals like The New England Journal of Medicine, The Journal of Clinical Oncology, Cancer, Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, British Journal of Cancer, Annals of Oncology, and other peer-reviewed medical journals.

On a more personal note, he speaks both English and Spanish.

Recommended Articles

• Living with Lymphoma Day by Day

  A majority of individuals diagnosed with lymphoma find that they have to make a great deal of adjustments to their lives. There are several physical, emotional, social, and everyday obstacles from diagnosis to remission.Living with lymphoma can be different for every individual, which is why it is...

• Touchdown For Lymphoma: Two Teams Put Rivalry Aside For a Cause

  Everyone knows that some rivalries can get pretty heated - especially when sports are involved. However, two football teams recognize that there is something more important - supporting a girl with Hodgkin's lymphoma. Although she was a cheerleader for the football team, they are now turning the...

• Breaking News on the Treatment of Follicular Lymphoma

  Reuters, the international news agency out of London, has announced that the FDA has given a new drug “accelerated approval,” for the treatment of follicular lymphoma.The drug, Aliqopa (copanlisib), showed complete or partial shrinkage of tumors in 59% of study participants during drug studies,...

• Inspirational Blood Cancer Survivors

  Different forms of blood cancer are responsible for claiming the third most lives out of all the types of cancer. Additionally, there are currently no known preventative treatments for blood cancers, and the disease also impacts children and young people more than any other form of cancer.When it...

• A Triathlon for Bloodwise

  Where would anyone be without friends? There have been many experiences where friends have been a bit of light in the dark. When 30-year-old Alexandra “Pixie” Flather from a town near Aylsham, England found out that her best friend was diagnosed with Leukemia, she decided to take action. At the...

• New Study Discovers How Lymphoma Affects Survivors’ Ability to Work

  Young adults in many countries pride themselves on their work. They have worked hard to get to where they are and there is a huge sense of accomplishment in joining the adult world and being able to provide for themselves and their new families if applicable. When cancer comes along, their ability...