Fox Chase surgical Fellows and Faculty pave the way for better cancer outcomes with research presented at ASCO, AUA, and SSO.

American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)

Matthew Zibelman, MD, an Associate Professor in the Department of Hematology/Oncology and former Fox Chase Hematology/Oncology Fellow, was first author for a new study that shows patients with metastatic kidney cancer receiving a combination therapy can safely stop or pause treatment after two years if they have a good response. Zibelman presented the research at ASCO 2025. Read More     

Joseph Van Galen, MD, MS, former Chief Fellow in the Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Program (Class of 2025), was honored at the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting with a Conquer Cancer Young Investigator Award. Van Galen received a one-year grant of $50,000 to pursue a translational immunology study of cancer treatment complications. His project will be mentored at Fox Chase by Matthew Zibelman, MD, and will be conducted in collaboration with a number of basic-science investigators. Read More

Pooja Ghatalia, MD, an Associate Professor in the Department of Hematology/Oncology at Fox Chase and a former Fox Chase Hematology/Oncology Fellow, presented at ASCO 2025 the results of the RETAIN-2 trial, which suggests that neoadjuvant chemotherapy and the immunotherapy drug nivolumab may be more effective than chemotherapy alone and may help patients successfully keep their bladders. Read More

Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO)

Evening of Networking and Camaraderie for Fox Chase Fellows and Faculty at the 2025 SSO Conference

Hannah Buettner, MD, Complex General Surgery Fellow, finds that chemotherapy followed by local excision is possible for some rectal cancer patients with node-negative low rectal cancer and offers a promising new treatment option. Read More

Denise Wong, MD, Complex General Surgical Oncology Fellow, determined that fragmented care does not affect survival outcomes for retroperitoneal sarcoma and that overall survival rates were similar to those receiving non-fragmented care. Read More 

Walker Lyons, MD, a Department of Surgery Fellow, presented a timely abstract on decision making and management and outcomes in breast cancer patients with 1-of-1 and 2-of-2 positive sentinel nodes. Read More

Praveen Chatani, MD, a Complex General Surgical Oncology Fellow, challenges the norm of removing 12 lymph nodes, demonstrating that removing and testing at least 18 nodes during colon cancer surgery was associated with better outcomes. Read More

American Urological Association (AUA)

 

Tamir Sholklapper, MD, a Resident in the Department of Urology at Fox Chase, in research led by Alexander Kutikov, MD, FACS, Chair of the Department of Urology at Fox Chase, demonstrated that using a partially absorbable, synthetic, non-biologic mesh could prevent some debilitating hernias around stoma sites. Read More