Daniel P. Petrylak, MD

Yale University Cancer Center

New Haven, Connecticut

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.

Talks by Daniel P. Petrylak, MD

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.

Checkpoint Inhibitors for NMIBC

Posted by Daniel P. Petrylak, MD | May 2019

Daniel P. Petrylak, MD, provides an overview of immunotherapy treatment options for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) including BCG, intravesical therapies, and checkpoint inhibitors. He also discusses clinical trials investigating alternative immunotherapy options for NMIBC other than BCG.

PARP in Combination with Standard-of-Care Treatment

Posted by Daniel P. Petrylak, MD | May 2019

Daniel P. Petrylak, MD, discusses the potential role of PARP inhibitors in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) treatment. He also discusses the two methods for approaching combination therapy with PARP inhibitors: hypoxia and the anti-androgen blockade.