Division of Gynecologic Oncology
The Division of Gynecologic Oncology at SUNY Downstate Medical Center has a long history of providing much needed care to Brooklyn women with pre-invasive and invasive disease in the female genital tract. Members of the Division provide comprehensive medical and surgical care to women with reproductive tract cancers, such as those arise in ovary, uterus, cervix, vulva and vagina, at both University Hospital of Brooklyn and Kings County Hospital Center, which are the tertiary referral centers for patients with gynecologic malignancies. There are approximately 200 to 250 new patients with gynecologic cancer diagnosed or treated, over 300 major surgical procedures performed, and more than 1,000 cycles of chemotherapy administered by the Division. The Division also provides necessary surgical support to the Obstetrics, Gynecology, and other surgical services, and is the leader in performing advanced minimally invasive surgery such as laparoscopic and robotic surgical procedures in Brooklyn.
Besides the commitment to patient care and busy clinical service, the Division is also dedicated to research and education in the field of Gynecologic Oncology. Our faculty and staff are actively involved in clinical, basic science, and translational research in women’s cancer. The Division is an active member of the NRG Oncology, a NCI national clinical trials network group, which allows us to enroll the patients to eligible NCI-sponsored clinical trials. The Division also actively participates in multiple Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) Foundation and pharmaceutical industry sponsored clinical trials, which provides unique treatment options to our patients and opportunities in advancing clinical outcomes in gynecological malignancies.
As the only medical school affiliated academic institution in Brooklyn, our Division at SUNY Downstate Medical Center has full complement of medical students, residents, and fellows. As a major teaching institution, third-year medical students rotate through our Division. This introduction to our field has led four to six senior medical students to choose to take sub-internship with our Division every year. There were also visiting students from outside institutions across the country to do clinical electives with us. The Obstetrics & Gynecology residents in our Department spend two months on the Gynecologic Oncology Service in each of their second and third years. Their learning objectives include all aspects of the management of patients with gynecologic malignancies, such as diagnosis and work-up, operative skills in radical and minimally invasive surgery, understanding and administration of chemotherapy, diagnosis and treatment of lower genital intraepithelial neoplasia, as well as surveillance and follow-up of gynecologic cancer patients.
The Gynecologic Oncology Fellowship Program at SUNY Downstate was established in 1967, and is one of the oldest and continuously accredited programs in the country. Our three-year fellowship training program is currently accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), and includes two years of clinical training followed by one year of basic science and clinical research in order to prepare our fellows for their roles as future gynecologic oncologists in academic medicine or clinical practice.