Muneeb Alam, MD, is a urologic oncologist who specializes in kidney cancer but also treats patients who have bladder, prostate, and testicular cancers.
In medical school, Dr. Alam says he knew he wanted to focus on treating cancer but it was doing research projects early in his training that he met mentors who encouraged him to explore urology.
“What I love about this specialty is that it allows me to be creative and engage with patients in many different ways,” he says. “I get to use my hands as a surgeon and have fulfilling relationships with my patients and with the care teams. It is immensely gratifying.”
Personalized approaches to cancer care are no longer a hope, but an expectation, Dr. Alam says. “One of the ways we approach this is through a multidisciplinary team. I play the role of surgeon, and we involve our medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, pathologist and supportive care team members,” he says. “This helps us not only improve outcomes from a cancer care standpoint, but also from the standpoint of quality of life, throughout treatment as well as through recovery.”
Furthermore, the field of urologic oncology has had many advancements, including minimally invasive surgical approaches, personalized medical therapies, and the growing use of active surveillance, which entails watching a cancer closely.
“We take pride in our ability to help patients with these challenging decisions and discuss their individual goals and desires,” Dr. Alam says. “At the end of the day, we want patients to feel comfortable, not only with their doctor or surgeon, but with the decision that they're making.”
Dr. Alam is also an active researcher and has an interest in immunotherapy. “We know that certain patients with high risk tumors can have great outcomes with the use of immunotherapy,” he says. “We're using our research now to identify not only those patients most likely to benefit, but also to identify novel therapies based on tumor biology. We’ve accelerated our ability to bring those treatments directly to patients, whether it be through clinical trials, or other avenues. I’m excited by the progress we've made.”
