Stony Brook University Hospital has added a nationallyrenowned cancer surgeon to its staff. Dr. Martin S.Karpeh, Jr. was appointed Chief of Surgical Oncology.
‘?All of the components of atruly excellent cancer center?such as clinical services, research, andacademics?are here at Stony Brook, and surgical oncology is a major partof that,’ Karpeh said. ‘?But surgery is not a technique; it is ascience and a multifaceted specialty, and the operation is just one component.Stony Brook has all the components.’
For the past 12 years, Karpeh workedat Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City as a specialist ingastrointestinal surgery. He also held a faculty appointment at the WeillMedical College of Cornell University and has been nationally recognized forhis expertise in the treatment of cancer of the stomach and esophagogastricjunction.
One of Karpeh’s responsibilities is overseeing thehospital’s Long Island Cancer Center (LICC). The recent addition of theLICC is part of the University Hospital’s effort to establish LongIsland’s first National Cancer Institute (NCI) and designate it as aComprehensive Cancer Center. The hospital hopes to attain such a designationwithin a few years. There are only 39 such NCI-designated cancer centers inthe nation. The LICC conducts the only university-based cancer research in theregion.
Long Island’s large andaging population makes cancer a significant healthcare issue. Stony Brook isbuilding its ability to care for the increasing number of patients with itscomprehensive clinical services and research.
Through its General ClinicalResearch Center, the hospital also conducts important clinical trials in thesearch for effective new therapies and drugs.
‘?Our goal will be to givepatients a complete picture of their therapy in one initial visit,’Karpeh said. ‘?This ease of entry into the system is imperative, and itallows for the surgical and clinical oncologists, radiation therapists, andother specialists to generate a treatment plan that may or may not incorporatesurgery.’
Hospital administrators saidKarpeh’s expertisewill help the hospital more effectively treat cancersof the gastrointestinal tract, such as esophageal, pancreatic, and livercancers. He emphasized that all of these cancers can be treated effectively ifdetected early and handled with appropriate surgery. Karpeh also will beresponsible for recruiting additional surgeons who specialize in surgicaloncology.
Dr. Karpeh is a fellow of theAmerican College of Surgeons and a member of the Society of Surgical Oncology.He completed his General Surgery residency at the Hospital of the University ofPennsylvania. He received his M.D. degree from Pennsylvania State University in1983. He was the recipient of an American Cancer Society Clinical OncologyFellowship Award in 1990 and is currently funded by the National Institutes ofHealth for research related to gastric cancer.
