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Cheng
Guang-Shing Cheng, MD

Guang-Shing Cheng, MD

Pulmonology

  • Physician, Fred Hutch
  • Professor, Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutch
  • Professor, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine
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About

Dr. Guang-Shing Cheng is a board-certified pulmonologist and researcher at Fred Hutch. She cares for people with cancer-related lung problems and studies respiratory failure and lung complications following cancer treatment.

Background

Dr. Cheng is a pulmonary critical care specialist who sees patients with respiratory problems caused by cancer or cancer treatment. She is the medical director of the Pulmonary Outpatient Consult Service and provides care through the Lung Cancer Early Detection and Prevention Clinic, which serves individuals at high risk for lung cancer or experiencing lung complications during or after treatment. She is also an attending physician in the intensive care unit at UW Medical Center – Montlake.

Dr. Cheng’s research is dedicated to improving outcomes for patients who develop lung complications following blood stem cell transplantation. Her primary area of interest is bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS), a serious condition that can cause permanent airway damage after transplant. She studies ways to better prevent this disease, detect it earlier and improve lung function in patients.

In addition to BOS, Dr. Cheng investigates how respiratory viruses and other infections contribute to lung disease in patients with weakened immune systems. She participates in multicenter national clinical trials testing new treatments for BOS and other transplant-related lung conditions. Her work has been published in peer-reviewed scientific journals and book chapters focused on pulmonary disease.

Area of Clinical Practice
High risk prevention, respiratory problems from cancer and treatment, lung cancer early detection

“My hope is that we can eliminate the incidence and severity of cancer treatment-related lung problems. No one should have to live every day feeling like they can’t breathe.”

— Dr. Cheng

What drives your interest in cancer care and pulmonary disease?

One of the first patients I cared for at Fred Hutch was a women in her early twenties who’d had a blood stem cell transplant. The procedure cured her leukemia, but she went on to develop bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS). It’s a rare post-transplant complication that causes scar tissue to build up in the lungs, narrowing or blocking the airway. This condition kept her from going to nursing school, and although she beat the odds — living with BOS for 16 years — it eventually took her life. To go through an intense, lifesaving procedure like a transplant only to die of a lung disease is devastating. There’s a lot of potential benefit in figuring out how problems like BOS develop; my hope is that we can eliminate the incidence and severity of BOS and other cancer treatment-related lung problems. No one should have to live every day feeling like they can’t breathe.

How do you help patients?

Fred Hutch is unique in that it’s one of the few places in the country with a group like mine: pulmonologists who exclusively see patients with cancer. I work with people who have all types of disease, from melanoma to lung cancer to leukemias. A large part of my clinical practice is caring for patients experiencing respiratory problems after a blood stem cell transplant. It can be really frustrating for someone to bounce back from such a rigorous procedure and then all of a sudden have difficulty breathing. I think it’s important to share the facts — what we know and what we don’t know — and offer hope. Many people live quite well for decades with some level of lung dysfunction, and we are starting to recognize post-transplant complications like BOS earlier and earlier. I collaborate closely with the Long-term Follow-up Program team, infectious disease experts, oncologists and other specialists to help address lung-related issues.

Diseases Treated

Lung Cancer

Current Projects

Dr. Cheng’s goal is to improve outcomes for stem cell transplant patients with infectious and non-infectious lung disease. Her research focuses on bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS), which is a complication of chronic graft-versus-host disease in patients who have received HCT. Currently, there are no therapies that routinely reverse the course of the disease. Dr. Cheng is working to develop early detection and prevention strategies for HCT patients, including the use of wireless handheld spirometry monitoring, which may lead to earlier treatment. She is also involved in multicenter trials testing new drugs for the treatment of BOS and other lung diseases after HCT. She is investigating the relationship between respiratory viral infection and the development of lung disease in these patients.

Languages

Chinese (Mandarin)
English

Education and Experience

Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

Fellowship, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine

Internship/Residency, Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine

MD, University of California, San Francisco

BA, Biology, Harvard University

Board Certification

Critical Care Medicine, 2009; Pulmonary Disease, 2007; Internal Medicine, 2005, American Board of Internal Medicine

Awards

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center Ali Al-Johani Award
Dr. Cheng received the 2020 Ali Al-Johani Award, which recognizes excellence in patient care.

Clinical Trials

We make promising new treatments available to you through studies called clinical trials led by Fred Hutch physicians and researchers. Many of these trials at Fred Hutch have led to FDA-approved treatments and have improved standards of care globally. Together, you and your physician can decide if a study is right for you.

Find a Clinical Trial Led by Dr. Cheng

Publications

Many of our Fred Hutch physicians and researchers conduct ongoing research to improve standards of patient care. Their work is evaluated by others in their field and selected for publication to the United States National Library of Medicine, the largest medical library in the world. See scientific papers this Fred Hutch physician has written.

View Dr. Cheng's Publications

Your Care Team

At Fred Hutch, you receive care from a team of providers with extensive experience in your disease. Your team includes physicians, a patient care coordinator, a registered nurse, an advanced practice provider and others, based on your needs. You also have access to experts like registered dietitians, social workers, acupuncturists, psychiatrists and more who specialize in supporting people with cancer or blood disorders. 

Meet Other Providers

Insurance

Fred Hutch accepts most national private health insurance plans as well as Medicare. We also accept Medicaid for people from Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho. We are working to ensure that everyone, no matter what their financial situation, has access to the care they need.

More About Insurance

Stories

All news
Oncology nurses translate bedside expertise into research
Oncology nurses translate bedside expertise into research Fred Hutch nurses presented innovative research impacting clinical care at 51st Annual Oncology Nursing Society Congress May 29, 2026
How COVID-19 has opened science
How COVID-19 has opened science An urgent search for answers promotes a faster, freer exchange of ideas September 15, 2020
Dr. Guang-Shing Cheng receives Dr. Ali Al-Johani Award for exceptional patient care
Dr. Guang-Shing Cheng receives Dr. Ali Al-Johani Award for exceptional patient care Pulmonologist’s work honored as ‘invaluable to transplant patients’ February 4, 2020

Contact Information