About

Yu-xiao Yang, MD, MSCE, is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Department of Medicine (Gastroenterology) at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. He serves as an Attending Physician at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Dr. Yang is also a Senior Scholar at the Center for Epidemiology & Biostatistics at the University of Pennsylvania and co-directs the Gastroenterology and Hepatology Research Program at UPENN. His educational background includes a BE in Electrical Engineering from City College of New York, an MD from New York University School of Medicine, and an MSCE from the University of Pennsylvania. His research focuses on epidemiology and biostatistics, with a particular emphasis on gastrointestinal and hepatological disorders, as evidenced by his extensive publication record in these areas. Dr. Yang's work involves leveraging electronic health records for early disease detection, understanding cancer risks, and developing clinical prediction models, contributing significantly to the fields of gastroenterology and epidemiology.

Research topics

• Medicine
• Internal medicine
• Intensive care medicine
• Family medicine
• Immunology
• Emergency medicine

Selected publications

• Su1986 COMPARATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF ATORVASTATIN VERSUS ROSUVASTATIN IN AFFECTING THE RISK OF HEPATOCELLULAR CANCER IN PATIENTS WITH METABOLIC ASSOCIATED STEATOTIC LIVER DISEASE

  Gastrointestinal Endoscopy · 2026-05-01

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Leveraging the Electronic Health Record for Early Detection of Pancreatic Cancer Among 9.4 Million US Veterans

  Clinical and Translational Gastroenterology · 2026-01-27

  articleOpen accessCorresponding

  INTRODUCTION: Early detection of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) improves survival. However, screening recommendations are limited to individuals with hereditary risk, accounting for only 10% of PDAC. We explore the feasibility of developing and validating an electronic health record-based model to identify high-risk individuals for PDAC screening within the asymptomatic general population. METHODS: Using multivariable Cox regression, we developed a diagnostic model to predict time to PDAC within 3 years in the Veterans Health Administration. We evaluated the final model using internal and temporally separate data sets using Akaike Information Criterion, Harrell c statistic, calibration curves, and sensitivity/specificity corresponding to a 3-year risk screening threshold of 1%. RESULTS: Among 9,351,261 individuals, 26,119 (0.3%) developed PDAC (107.6 cases per 100,000 person-years) within 3 years. The final model included age, pancreatic cyst, pancreatitis, smoking status, history of a localized solid tumor, race/ethnicity, and body mass index. Glucose and albumin values were highly important, in addition to other metabolic, inflammatory, and liver-related laboratory values. The c statistic (95% CI) was 0.75 (0.75-0.76) in development, 0.75 (0.75-0.76) in internal validation, and 0.74 (0.73-0.75) in temporal validation. At a 3-year risk threshold of 1.0%, 11% of the population would undergo screening, capturing 30% of the PDAC cases. DISCUSSION: We demonstrate good model discrimination in independent data. Compared with current screening practices targeting only genetically predisposed individuals, its implementation could identify 3 times as many PDAC cases. However, predictors beyond the electronic health record (EHR) may be needed to further improve the feasibility of generalized screening.

• 565 PANCREATIC CANCER AMONG PATIENTS TREATED FOR HEPATITIS C WITH DIRECT-ACTING ANTIVIRALS: A PROPENSITY ADJUSTED ANALYSIS

  Gastrointestinal Endoscopy · 2026-05-01

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Sa1369 DIAGNOSTIC TEST UTILIZATION AND YIELD OF FIRST-CHOICE COLONOSCOPY FOR EARLY-ONSET COLORECTAL CANCER (EOCRC) IN YOUNG ADULTS PRESENTING WITH MINIMAL TO MODERATE RECTAL BLEEDING: A POPULATION-BASED STUDY

  Gastrointestinal Endoscopy · 2026-05-01

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Sa1369 DIAGNOSTIC TEST UTILIZATION AND YIELD OF FIRST-CHOICE COLONOSCOPY FOR EARLY-ONSET COLORECTAL CANCER (EOCRC) IN YOUNG ADULTS PRESENTING WITH MINIMAL TO MODERATE RECTAL BLEEDING: A POPULATION-BASED STUDY

  Gastroenterology · 2026-05-01

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Su1986 COMPARATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF ATORVASTATIN VERSUS ROSUVASTATIN IN AFFECTING THE RISK OF HEPATOCELLULAR CANCER IN PATIENTS WITH METABOLIC ASSOCIATED STEATOTIC LIVER DISEASE

  Gastroenterology · 2026-05-01

  article
  PublisherDOI

• 565 PANCREATIC CANCER AMONG PATIENTS TREATED FOR HEPATITIS C WITH DIRECT-ACTING ANTIVIRALS: A PROPENSITY ADJUSTED ANALYSIS

  Gastroenterology · 2026-05-01

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Supplementary Table 2 from Do Polygenic Risk Scores Add to Clinical Data in Predicting Pancreatic Cancer? A Scoping Review

  2025-11-26

  articleOpen access

  <p>Supplementary Table 2 shows the search strategies employed for the scoping review.</p>

  PublisherDOI

• Supplementary Table 4 from Do Polygenic Risk Scores Add to Clinical Data in Predicting Pancreatic Cancer? A Scoping Review

  2025-11-26

  articleOpen access

  <p>Supplementary Table 4 shows additional information on the studies included in the scoping review</p>

  PublisherDOI

• The effect of metformin exposure on colorectal cancer incidence according to tumor sidedness

  Cancer Epidemiology · 2025-12-27

  article
  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Evaluation of the National Randomized Proton Pump Inhibitor De-prescribing (RaPPID) Program

  NIH · 2018–2021

• NIH Grant K08DK062978

  NIH · $663k · 2008

• NIH Grant R01HS018501

  NIH · $1.3M · 2014

• NIH Grant R01AR057102

  NIH · $3.0M · 2016

Frequent coauthors

• Nabeel Khan

  Philadelphia VA Medical Center

  124 shared

• Ben Boursi

  Sheba Medical Center

  112 shared

• James D. Lewis

  University of Pennsylvania

  69 shared

• Chinmay Trivedi

  Hackensack Meridian Health

  67 shared