Ask the Expert: What Are Some Considerations When First Treating Prostate Cancer Patients?

Daniel P. Petrylak, MD, leads the genitourinary cancers medical oncology team at Smilow Cancer Hospital as director of the genitourinary cancer research group, professor, and co-director of the Cancer Signaling Network program. Dr. Petrylak joined Yale from Herbert Irving Cancer Center at Columbia University Medical Center with New York-Presbyterian Hospital, where he served as Professor of Medicine (Medical Oncology) and Urology and began his appointment in September of 2012. Dr. Petrylak is a member of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO), American College of Physicians (ACP), American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), American Urological Association (AUA), and the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG). After serving for more than 20 years as the advanced bladder chair for SWOG, Dr. Petrylak is now the Vice Chair of the Genitourinary Committee. He additionally has led multiple national and international studies in prostate and bladder cancer.

Dr. Petrylak’s research interests span both prostate and bladder cancer. He led an investigator-initiated trial of docetaxel and estramustine in castration resistant prostate cancer. The results of this study supported a phase 3 trial of this combination in SWOG led by Dr. Petrylak, which in turn, supported the FDA approval of docetaxel for castration resistant prostate cancer. This was one of the first two trials to demonstrate a survival benefit in this state of disease. Dr. Petrylak has also been instrumental in the development of immunotherapy and targeted therapies for refractory bladder cancer. His work with Enfortumab Vedotin has supported the accelerated and full FDA approval of this drug.

Dr. Petrylak received his undergraduate degree from Columbia College and his medical degree from Case Western University School of Medicine. He completed his internship and residency at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and his fellowship in medical oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on prostate and bladder cancer research outcomes.