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NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Weill Cornell Medical College have established the Center for Prostate Cancer at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, a comprehensive center dedicated to research into and the treatment of prostate cancer.

The new center will be led by Dr. Ashutosh K. Tewari, a renowned urologist, surgeon and prostate cancer researcher. Dr. Tewari is the current director of the LeFrak Center for Robotic Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and the Ronald P. Lynch Professor of Urologic Oncology in the Department of Urology and a professor of public health at Weill Cornell Medical College.

With its dual mission of delivering outstanding care to men with prostate cancer and conducting innovative, world-class research into this disease, the new Center for Prostate Cancer aims to ultimately improve the lives of patients in both the immediate and long term.

"There are many research programs that are directed toward advanced prostate cancer," notes Dr. Tewari. "My main focus is to not let anyone get to an advanced cancer stage; therefore, we will use a combination of imaging, genomics, surgery and novel therapies to augment our surgical results and thus improve survival while maintaining quality of life."

The center's clinical services include advanced screening and diagnostic methods, such as fusion biopsy, focal therapy for localized tumors, refined imaging techniques, open and robotic surgery, treatments for advanced prostate cancer and rehabilitation for urinary and sexual issues following treatment.

Working with a multidisciplinary team of urologists, surgeons, radiologists, medical oncologists, pathologists, radiation oncologists and other specialists, the Center for Prostate Cancer is committed to providing compassionate and personalized care for men with prostate cancer, the most common cancer in American men after skin cancer.

"NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital is a leader in patient- and family-centered cancer and urologic care," says Dr. Steven J. Corwin, CEO of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. "We are pleased to establish the new Center for Prostate Cancer at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and are especially delighted that Dr. Ash Tewari, one of the world's top prostate cancer experts, will be leading this important new initiative. With his expertise and direction, we are poised to build upon our clinical strengths in prostate cancer and transform the health and lives of men and their loved ones."

The Center for Prostate Cancer is also devoted to prostate cancer research, spanning the breadth of basic laboratory science to translational research in clinical trials. Research activities will include tissue banking, genomics, outcomes data, a family cancer registry and development of novel diagnostics, drugs and technology. Dr. Tewari will also lead the institutional effort in tissue banking for prostate cancer.

"Dr. Tewari is one of the world's foremost experts in prostate cancer care, and I'm delighted that he will be leading the new Center for Prostate Cancer, accelerating the discovery of game-changing translational research and medical treatments for prostate cancer," says Dr. Laurie H. Glimcher, the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medical College. "Cutting-edge team science at the new center is the future of biomedicine, and there will be no barriers between medical disciplines, our clinicians and our researchers to finding the scientific breakthroughs and cures to strike out this disease."

Dr. Tewari, the center's founding director, is a board-certified urologist, researcher and innovator in the field of robotic prostate cancer surgery. He has performed more than 5,000 cases and has standardized the Weill Cornell Advanced Robotic Technique (ART™) of prostatectomy, which, by not using thermal (heat) energy, helps prevent damage to important nerves that control urinary and sexual function. In 2009, Dr. Tewari and colleagues received the Clarke Medal for Surgical Innovation from the Royal College of Surgeons of England for developing a novel technique for prostate cancer surgery that eliminates the need for a catheter. He also received the Gold Cystoscope Award from the American Urological Association in 2012 for his outstanding contributions to the field of urology and urologic oncology.

Dr. Tewari's current research focus is on identifying genomic biomarkers for prediction of aggressive prostate cancer; this includes both single-cell and whole-genome sequencing. In addition, Dr. Tewari is investigating nerve-sparing strategies in robotic prostate cancer using an image-guided approach that preserves nerves that are important for sexual function and urinary continence. Other research interests include the identification of molecular markers for prostate cancer, development of neuroprotective agents, advancement of ultrasound-guided biopsy techniques, racial disparities in prostate cancer, development of predictive models on prostate cancer survival, novel imaging techniques for surgery, and application of nanotechnology to the treatment of prostate cancer.

"During his distinguished career, Dr. Tewari has advanced and perfected innovative prostate cancer treatments, transforming the lives of his patients," says Dr. Peter Schlegel, chairman of the Department of Urology, the James J. Colt Professor of Urology and professor of urology and reproductive medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College and urologist-in-chief at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. "In this new role, Dr. Tewari will continue to raise the bar in urologic oncology, offering scores of men with prostate cancer and their families more hope for the future."

The new center is part of the newly expanded Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medical College and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, which, under the new leadership of Dr. Lewis C. Cantley, is coalescing clinicians and researchers to transform and accelerate personalized translational medicine for cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

"The Center for Prostate Cancer will focus on translating breakthrough scientific discoveries from the laboratory to the patient's bedside to offer the most advanced prostate cancer treatments possible," said Dr. Lewis Cantley, director of the Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medical College and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. "Our research shows that prostate cancer is not just one disease, but a series of unique diseases, and treatment is not one-size-fits all. The new center will take personalized translational medicine and individualized prostate cancer treatments to the next level."

Weill Cornell Medical College

Weill Cornell Medical College, Cornell University's medical school located in New York City, is committed to excellence in research, teaching, patient care and the advancement of the art and science of medicine, locally, nationally and globally. Physicians and scientists of Weill Cornell Medical College are engaged in cutting-edge research from bench to bedside, aimed at unlocking mysteries of the human body in health and sickness and toward developing new treatments and prevention strategies. In its commitment to global health and education, Weill Cornell has a strong presence in places such as Qatar, Tanzania, Haiti, Brazil, Austria and Turkey. Through the historic Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, the Medical College is the first in the U.S. to offer its M.D. degree overseas. Weill Cornell is the birthplace of many medical advances — including the development of the Pap test for cervical cancer, the synthesis of penicillin, the first successful embryo-biopsy pregnancy and birth in the U.S., the first clinical trial of gene therapy for Parkinson's disease, and most recently, the world's first successful use of deep brain stimulation to treat a minimally conscious brain-injured patient. Weill Cornell Medical College is affiliated with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, where its faculty provides comprehensive patient care at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. The Medical College is also affiliated with the Methodist Hospital in Houston. For more information, visit weill.cornell.edu.

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, located in New York City, is one of the leading academic medical centers in the world, comprising the teaching hospital NewYork-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medical College, the medical school of Cornell University. NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell provides state-of-the-art inpatient, ambulatory and preventive care in all areas of medicine, and is committed to excellence in patient care, education, research and community service. Weill Cornell physician-scientists have been responsible for many medical advances — including the development of the Pap test for cervical cancer; the synthesis of penicillin; the first successful embryo-biopsy pregnancy and birth in the U.S.; the first clinical trial for gene therapy for Parkinson's disease; the first indication of bone marrow's critical role in tumor growth; and, most recently, the world's first successful use of deep brain stimulation to treat a minimally conscious brain-injured patient. NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital also comprises NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Westchester Division and NewYork-Presbyterian/The Allen Hospital. NewYork-Presbyterian is the #1 hospital in the New York metropolitan area and is consistently ranked among the best academic medical institutions in the nation, according to U.S.News & World Report. Weill Cornell Medical College is the first U.S. medical college to offer a medical degree overseas and maintains a strong global presence in Austria, Brazil, Haiti, Tanzania, Turkey and Qatar. For more information, visit www.nyp.org.