International Bladder Cancer Update Expert Forum

Piyush K. Agarwal, MD, earned his medical degree at Weill Cornell College of Medicine and completed his residency at University Hospital Cleveland Medical Center and a fellowship at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Agarwal is currently a Professor of Surgery, the Fellowship Director for Urologic Oncology, and the Director of the Bladder Cancer program at the University of Chicago Medicine. Dr. Agarwal specializes in the multidisciplinary management of bladder cancer, using complex surgical techniques, such as robotic and open radical cystectomy and continent urinary diversions, to treat his patients. Along with bladder cancer, Dr. Agarwal is also an expert in all urologic cancers, including prostate, testicular, and penile carcinoma.

Dr. Agarwal’s clinical and laboratory research focuses primarily on bladder cancer, specifically BCG-unresponsive disease, the urinary microbiome, molecular targeted therapy, and immunotherapy. He has conducted several original, investigator-initiated clinical trials and has presented his research at national and international meetings. Dr. Agarwal has also authored six book chapters and over 90 manuscripts. Additionally, he has served on the FDA’s oncologic drug advisory committee.

Siamak Daneshmand, MD, earned his medical degree at the University of California, Davis, and completed his residency at the University of Southern California, followed by a two-year fellowship in Urologic Oncology at the University of Southern California’s Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Daneshmand is currently a Professor of Urology and Medicine (Oncology) with Clinical Scholar designation and serves as Director of Urologic Oncology and Clinical Research, as well as the Urologic Oncology (SUO) Fellowship Director at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles.

Dr. Daneshmand’s main clinical interests include bladder cancer, testicular cancer, and advanced kidney cancer. He is a leading authority in the management of complex germ cell tumors and nerve-sparing retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND) following chemotherapy for advanced testicular cancer, and is one of the highest volume surgeons for this disease in the country. Dr. Daneshmand’s main research interests focus on the use of pathways to improve perioperative outcomes following radical cystectomy and post-chemo RPLND, use of serum and molecular markers, and new technologies in the diagnosis and management of bladder and testicular cancers, as well as functional outcomes following orthotopic urinary diversion.

Dr. Daneshmand serves on the American Urological Association (AUA) guidelines panel for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer, as well as the AUA guidelines panel for testicular cancer. He currently serves as the Chair of the bladder section of the Society of Urologic Oncology Clinical Trials Consortium (SUO-CTC), as a member on the scientific steering committee of several bladder cancer clinical trials, and has led over a dozen clinical trials in bladder cancer and a pivotal trial in testicular cancer (SEMS). He is currently Secretary of the Western Section of the AUA. He is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society and has been designated as one of the “America’s Top Cancer Doctors” for the past 12 consecutive years. A career leader in academic investigations in bladder cancer and germ cell tumors, he was recently appointed Chair of the SWOG Cancer Research Network local bladder committee. He has been a visiting professor at more than 25 institutions around the world. He has presented over 500 abstracts at scientific meetings and has authored over 375 peer-reviewed articles, reviews, and book chapters.

Robert Dreicer, MD, MS, MACP, FASCO, received his BS from Colorado State University and his MS from the University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Science in Houston, Texas. He received his MD from the University of Texas Medical School in Houston before completing an internal medicine residency at Indiana University in Indianapolis. He then went on to a medical oncology fellowship at the University of Wisconsin Carbone Clinical Cancer Center in Madison, Wisconsin. Dr. Dreicer is currently Deputy Director of UVA Cancer Center, serves as Section Head of Solid Tumor Oncology within the School of Medicine’s Division of Hematology and Oncology, and is a Professor of Medicine and Urology.

Dr. Dreicer specializes in the management of genitourinary malignancies, as well as the design and conduct of clinical trials in urologic oncology. Dr. Dreicer’s research interests are novel therapeutic approaches for urologic cancers including prostate, urothelial and kidney cancers. He previously served as Co-Chair of the National Cancer Institute’s Genitourinary Oncology Steering Committee and serves as a member of the Medical Oncology Longitudinal Test Assessment Committee of the American Board of Internal Medicine. He has been a long-standing Associate Editor of the New England Journal of Medicine’s Journal Watch Hematology/Oncology. Dr. Dreicer has published widely in genitourinary oncology and served as Principal Investigator of a large number of studies in genitourinary neoplasms. For many years, Dr. Dreicer has been named to Top Doctors in America, America’s Best Doctors, and America’s Top Doctors for Cancer. He participates regularly in national and international programs devoted to education and research in urologic malignancies.

Steven E. Finkelstein, MD, FACRO, is the Director of the Center of Advanced Radiation Excellence, and Director of Radiation Oncology Research for Associated Medical Professionals in Syracuse, New York. His interests include the research of a variety of cancers, busting radiation driven and personalized systemic therapy. He holds three international patents in the field of cutting edge technologies.

Dr. Finkelstein received his medical degree from the University of Michigan Medical School, graduating cum laude eruditions causa. He then joined the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health as Clinical Associate. He completed both Surgical Oncology Fellowship as well as Clinical Immunotherapy Fellowship, and an additional radiation oncology residency.

Dr. Finkelstein served a residency in General Surgery at Washington University in Saint Louis, Missouri, and served fellowships in Biologic Immunotherapy, Clinical Cancer, and Surgical Oncology at the Surgery Branch of the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland. He is a member of the American College of Radiation Oncology, the American Medical Association, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, the Radiological Society of North America, and the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group.

Dr. Finkelstein has served as a Co-Chair on the NRG Immunotherapy Committee, Co-Chair of the 2018-2019 ACRO Scientific Program Committee, and Chair of the SWOG Radiation STG Committee. He currently serves on the Board of Chancellors for ACRO. Dr. Finkelstein has also served as National Director of Translational Research Consortium (TRC), the cutting-edge therapy arm of 21st Century Oncology in Scottsdale, Arizona. Inspired by his grandmother, a cancer patient, he became a dedicated cancer surgeon who found that radiation therapy could sometimes do for his patients what surgery could not.

Petros Grivas, MD, PhD, earned his medical degree at the University of Patras School of Medicine. Dr. Grivas then completed his residency in internal medicine at Drexel University College of Medicine/Hahnemann University Hospital. He then completed his fellowship in hematology-oncology at the University of Michigan. Dr. Grivas is currently a practicing oncologist and Professor in the Clinical Research Division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, as well as an Associate Professor in the Division of Hematology and Oncology and the Clinical Director of the Genitourinary Cancers Program at the University of Washington Medicine.

Dr. Grivas has expertise in treating genitourinary cancers such as bladder cancer, prostate cancer, and testicular cancer. His clinical research helped lead to the FDA approval of new drugs to treat the most common type of bladder cancer. Dr. Grivas currently leads clinical trials that investigate the use of checkpoint inhibitors. These immunotherapy drugs release the brakes on a patient’s immune system and help it mount a better response to cancer.

Shilpa Gupta, MD, obtained her Medical Degree at the Lady Hardinge Medical College in New Delhi, India and completed a residency in internal medicine at the University of Connecticut Health Center. She completed hematology-oncology fellowships at Georgetown University and Thomas Jefferson University, followed by a Genitourinary Oncology Translational Research fellowship at Thomas Jefferson University. Dr. Gupta is currently the Director of the Genitourinary Medical Oncology at Taussig Cancer Institute and Co-Leader of the Genitourinary Oncology Program at Cleveland Clinic.

Dr. Gupta’s research interests are novel drug development and understanding biomarkers of response and resistance to therapies in bladder cancer. Dr. Gupta has led several investigator-initiated trials in genitourinary cancers, has leadership roles in NCI trials, and is Chair of an alliance-led phase 3 trial in bladder cancer, as well as Co-Chair of the SWOG S1206 trial in Prostate Cancer and SWOG champion of the Alliance A031701 trial in bladder cancer. She is Principal Investigator of a 2020 Department of Defense Idea Award to study the biomarkers of response and resistance to immunotherapy in bladder cancer, and Co-Principal Investigator of a Department of Defense Team Translational Science Award to study immunotherapy combination strategies to overcome resistance in bladder cancer. Dr. Gupta is the Co-Chair of the Hoosier Cancer Research Network (HCRN) Genitourinary Working Group and Co-Chair of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center PRMC committee.

Dr. Gupta’s research has been published in peer-reviewed journals including the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Lancet Oncology, Clinical Cancer Research, and European Oncology, among others. She is the author for the AUA core curriculum for penile cancer and serves on the NCCN guidelines panel for prostate cancer. Dr. Gupta is active in several professional organizations, including the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), American Urologic Association (AUA), American Association of Cancer Research (AACR), Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO), Society of Immunotherapy for Cancer (SITC), Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network (BCAN), Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) and the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO).

Gopakumar Iyer, MD, is a genitourinary oncologist and early drug development specialist serving as the section head for bladder cancer at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Iyer is a member of Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Bladder Cancer Oncogenomics Project, a multidisciplinary effort to discover the key genetic abnormalities that drive this disease. He specializes in research in and treatment of patients with genitourinary cancers, including bladder, prostate, kidney, and testis cancers. Dr. Iyer earned his MD at Vanderbilt University Medical School, completed a residency in internal medicine at the University of Michigan as well as a fellowship in medical oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He is board certified in internal medicine and medical oncology. 

Dr. Iyer’s laboratory research focuses on defining the genetic aberrations that characterize bladder cancer, thereby identifying mutations that may serve as targets for novel therapies. Specifically, alterations within the PI3 kinase/Akt/mTOR pathway are commonly found in bladder cancer, and efforts to understand the biologic effects of pharmacologic inhibition of this pathway are underway. Loss of the TSC1 protein, a negative regulator of mTOR activation, has been shown to contribute to dramatic sensitivity of bladder tumors to everolimus therapy. He is working to elucidate the mechanisms underpinning drug sensitivity and defining the pattern of co-alterations with TSC1 loss in bladder cancer using next-generation sequencing techniques.

Lawrence I. Karsh, MD, received a Bachelor of Arts degree with a distributed major in English, biology, and chemistry from the University of Colorado. He earned his MD at the Chicago Medical School and then completed his general surgical training at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. Dr. Karsh completed his residency training in urologic surgery at Harvard Medical School at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Karsh is a Co-Founder of The Urology Center of Colorado, where he serves as an attending urologist and Director of Research & Co-Chairman of the Advanced Therapeutic Clinic.

Dr. Karsh is a certified Principal Investigator and has held this role on over 250 clinical trials. Dr. Karsh has authored a number of peer-reviewed publications, and serves on the editorial boards for Oncology Live, Urologists in Cancer Care, and Bladder Cancer. Dr. Karsh is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and an active member of the AUA, SUO, ASCO, SWOG, ACS, and the Denver Academy of Surgeons. He has served on the bladder cancer subcommittee and the advisory board for the SUO Clinical Trials Consortium and is a member of the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network (BCAN) Think Tank.

Yair Lotan, MD, graduated with high honors from the University of Texas at Austin and Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. He trained in general surgery and urology at UT Southwestern and joined the faculty in 2003. Dr. Lotan is currently a Professor of Urology, Chief of Urologic Oncology, and holder of the Jane and John Justin Distinguished Chair in Urology, in Honor of Claus G. Roehrborn, MD, at UT Southwestern Medical Center. He is also the Medical Director of the Urology Clinic at UT Southwestern and Parkland Health and Hospital System in Dallas.

Dr. Lotan is known nationally for his research on urine markers and molecular markers, which will help determine which patients are at higher risk for recurrent cancer. He is also involved in health economics research, which evaluates the cost-effectiveness of surgery and cancer prevention. Dr. Lotan is the Co-Chair of the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center Disease-Oriented Team for Urologic Cancers. He is also a member of UT Southwestern’s Clinical Research Planning Group and the Tissue Bank Steering Committee and Cancer Committee.

Dr. Lotan is a frequent guest speaker at medical conferences around the world and belongs to numerous professional organizations, including the American Urological Association, the Society of Urologic Oncology, and the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network. He has published hundreds of research articles and several book chapters on urologic care and procedures, and he serves as editorial reviewer for medical periodicals such as the Journal of Urology, European Urology, Cancer, Urologic Oncology, and British Journal of Urology International.

Kenneth G. Nepple, MD, FACS, completed a urology residency at the University of Iowa and a fellowship in urologic oncology at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Dr. Nepple is currently a Clinical Professor of Urology at the University of Iowa. At the University of Iowa, he had supportive roles including Associate Chief Health Information Officer for Cancer Informatics, Physician Value Officer, and Clinical Documentation Advisor. He is also board certified in urology and clinical informatics.

Dr. Nepple has expertise in all areas of urologic cancer, including kidney, prostate, and bladder cancer. His research interests include clinical informatics, the impact of outreach activities on quality of bladder cancer care, urological cancer research, and the impact of malnutrition and frailty on cancer patients.

Christopher M. Pieczonka, MD, graduated from the SUNY Buffalo School of Medicine in 1997. He completed his surgical and urologic training at SUNY at Buffalo Consortium Program in 2003. Dr. Pieczonka is board certified by the American Board of Urology and is an active member of the American Urological Association (AUA); American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO). Dr. Pieczonka has also co-authored over 100 publications and published abstracts.   

Dr. Pieczonka has served as the Executive Vice President of the Physician Teamster Alliance of CNY Local #1149 and has a specialty interest in the treatment of advanced prostate and bladder cancer. He has been the primary investigator of over 50 interventional oncology studies. Dr. Pieczonka has also been designated as a UroLift® Center of Excellence physician. Currently, Dr. Pieczonka serves as the CEO of Associated Medical Professionals.

Jonathan E. Rosenberg, MD, received his undergraduate degree from Duke University and his medical degree from Harvard Medical School. Dr. Rosenberg completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Cornell Medical Center and his Hematology/Oncology fellowship at UCSF. Dr. Rosenberg is currently Chief of Genitourinary Oncology Services for the Division of Solid Tumor Oncology and the Enno W. Ercklentz, Jr. Chair and an Attending Physician at Memorial Hospital at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, as well as  Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York.

Dr. Rosenberg has extensive experience treating urothelial cancers, which start in the bladder, ureters, renal pelvis, or urethra. He had previously served on the faculty at UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute prior to coming to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Rosenberg’s research focuses on understanding bladder cancer biology with the goal of developing new therapeutic approaches in bladder cancer. He works closely with laboratory investigators to correlate novel genetic biomarkers with clinical outcomes in bladder cancer.

Arlene O. Siefker-Radtke, MD, earned her medical degree from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She completed a clinical residency in internal medicine at New England Medical Center, and a clinical fellowship in medical oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Siefker-Radtke is board-certified in internal medicine and medical oncology. Dr. Siefker-Radtke is a Professor in the Department of Genitourinary Medical Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine, at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, where she has exclusively focused on the treatment of urothelial cancer for over 20 years.

An active researcher, Dr. Siefker-Radtke has published over 150 journal articles, abstracts, editorials, and book chapters. She focuses on developing effective therapies for the treatment of urothelial cancer and other rare tumors of the bladder and upper tract. She is well known for her novel clinical trial designs, development of novel agents and targets including immunotherapy, fibroblast growth factor receptor inhibitors, development of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and expertise in treating even the rarest tumors of the bladder.

Dr. Siefker-Radtke is actively involved in the Oncology Research Programs at National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN). She currently serves as a member and Value Pathways Task Force member of the NCCN Bladder/Penile Cancers Panel, and on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Bladder Cancer Task Force.

Jennifer M. Taylor, MD, MPH, earned her MD from the University of Texas Medical School in Houston, where she also completed an internship and residency. She completed a fellowship in urologic oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City and earned an MPH from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston. Dr. Taylor is currently an Associate Professor of Urology and a practicing urologist at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, where she also serves as the Residency Program Director for Urology. Additionally, Dr. Taylor practices at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, where she is the Director of Urologic Oncology for the VA urology service.

Dr. Taylor is involved in clinical research in multiple genitourinary malignancies with a focus on bladder cancer, as well as research on medical education and physician wellness and resilience. Dr. Taylor is involved in the national medical community and is a member of the American Urological Association, the Society of Urologic Oncology, the Society of Women in Urology, and the American College of Surgeons. She has won numerous awards, including Baylor College of Medicine’s Norton Rose Fulbright Faculty Excellence Award for Teaching and Evaluation and the Women of Excellence Award.

Tian Zhang, MD, MHS, earned her medical degree from the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology (HST) program at Harvard Medical School. She completed a residency in internal medicine at Duke University, where she also received advanced training through a hematology-oncology fellowship. In addition, she earned a Master of Health Sciences in the Clinical Research Training Program at Duke. Dr. Zhang is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. She also serves as Director of Clinical Research within the Division of Hematology and Oncology in the Department of Internal Medicine.

Dr. Zhang specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of genitourinary malignancies, including kidney, prostate, bladder, and testicular cancers. Dr. Zhang is an accomplished clinical trialist and translational researcher focused on evaluating clinical development of novel therapeutics and evaluating biomarkers for genitourinary malignancies. She has gained an international reputation developing clinical trials in kidney, prostate, and bladder cancers. Notably, she serves as the study chair for PDIGREE, an NCI-funded phase 3 trial in metastatic renal cell carcinoma and has activated many trials for patients at UT Southwestern.

Dr. Zhang is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC), and the Chinese American Hematology and Oncology Network (CAHON). She serves on numerous committees, including as Co-Chair of the National Cancer Institute Genitourinary (GU) Steering Committee Renal Task Force. She is a member of several ASCO and SITC clinical management guidelines committees, as well as the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology GU Oncology and Immuno-Oncology Committees.