Daniel P. Petrylak, MD

Yale University Cancer Center

New Haven, CT

Daniel P. Petrylak, MD, is currently Director of Genitourinary Oncology, Professor of Medicine and of Urology, and Co-Director of the Signal Transduction Program at Yale University Cancer Center. He is a recognized international leader in the field. He completed his medical degree at Case Western Reserve University School of medicine, his internal medicine residency at Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Jacobi Medical center, and fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Petrylak is the head of the advanced bladder subcommittee in the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) Genitourinary Committee. He served principal investigator (PI) or co-PI on seven SWOG clinical trials for genitourinary cancers. Most notably, he served as the PI for a randomized trial that led to the FDA approval of docetaxel in hormone refractory prostate cancer. He also help to design and served as PI for the SPARC trial, an international registration trial evaluating satraplatin as a second line therapy for hormone refractory prostate cancer. Dr. Petrylak has served on the program committee for the annual meetings of the American Urological Association from 2003-2011, and for the American Society of Clinical Oncology from 1995-1997 and 2001-2003. He also has served as a committee member for the Devices and Immunologicals section of the FDA. He has published extensively in the New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Cancer Research, and Clinical Cancer Research.

Articles by Daniel P. Petrylak, MD

Enfortumab Vedotin Approved by FDA for Patients With Refractory Urothelial Carcinoma

Posted by Daniel P. Petrylak, MD | Jan 2020

Daniel P. Petrylak, MD, discusses the recent FDA approval of the antibody drug complex enfortumab vedotin for treating refractory advanced urothelial disease in patients previously treated with immunotherapy and chemotherapy. He describes how the drug complex works to fight bladder cancer by recognizing Nectin-4, a biomarker expressed on the surface of bladder cancer cells, and delivering MMAE to cause cytotoxic activity. Dr. Petrylak further describes the design, execution, and results of the clinical trial that led to the drug’s approval, as well as notable side effects.

FDA Approves Pembrolizumab for New Indication of NMIBC

Posted by Daniel P. Petrylak, MD | Jan 2020

Daniel P. Petrylak, MD, discusses the recent FDA approval of the checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab for treating cystectomy-ineligible (or those who have refused cystectomy) non-muscle invasive bladder cancer patients who have also failed BCG. He details the prior lack of available treatment for this disease, explains the function of the drug as a checkpoint inhibitor, and describes the study that led to the drug’s approval.

ESMO: Astellas, Seattle Genetics’ Keytruda Combo Shrinks 71% of Bladder Cancers

Posted by Daniel P. Petrylak, MD | Dec 2019

E. David Crawford, MD, interviews Daniel P. Petrylak, MD, about a Phase 1b trial of cisplatin-ineligible bladder cancer patients given a combination of pembrolizumab and enfortumab vedotin that resulted in a 71% response rate. Dr. Petrylak details what makes a patient cisplatin-ineligible, discusses the partial and complete responses to the drug combination, and lays out future plans to study the efficacy of this therapy in the treatment of urothelial cancer.

Immunotherapy for Castrate-Resistant Prostate Cancer

Posted by Daniel P. Petrylak, MD | Aug 2019

Daniel P. Petrylak, MD, analyzes the current status of immunotherapy for prostate cancer, reviewing available options, emerging combination therapies, and immunotherapy clinical trials. He also emphasizes the impact of PD-L1 expression, microsatellite instability, and other mutations in prostate cancer on patient responses to immunotherapy.

Debate: Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Prior to Cystectomy | Pro Argument

Posted by Daniel P. Petrylak, MD | May 2019

Daniel P. Petrylak, MD, argues the advantages of using neoadjuvant chemotherapy prior to cystectomy to treat patients with muscle invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). He reviews evidence including the SWOG 87-10 trial and a meta-analysis to support this stance.