Urban Emmenegger

Methods: molecular cancer analytics, translational and clinical prostate cancer trials, systematic reviews, real-world evidence

Research Synopsis

Improving Advanced Prostate Cancer Care

Despite marked advances over the last years, metastatic prostate cancer remains an incurable condition to this date. Translating life-prolonging study therapies into improved day-to-day care is faced by numerous challenges, including the fact that real-world patients tend to be older and frailer than study participants.

My clinical focus is on the systemic management of advanced prostate cancer. Aside from participation in (inter)national phase 2 and phase 3 clinical trials, I am involved in local studies testing the benefit of combined systemic therapy and stereotactic ablative radiotherapy for the management of oligometastatic or oligoprogressive prostate cancer.

In collaboration with Dr. Shabbir Alibhai (Division of General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics at the University Health Network, Senior Scientist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre) we are studying ways how to best support elderly and/or frail prostate cancer patients undergoing systemic therapies. I have also a special interest in identifying better understanding how treatment-induced sarcopenia affects prostate cancer outcome. These Phase 1/2 trials include predictive biomarker companion studies based on circulating tumor DNA analysis.

I am also interested in identifying clinically relevant drug-drug interactions between novel prostate cancer medications and treatments frequently used by the typically older prostate cancer patient with numerous comorbidities. These studies contribute to the safe use of these life-prolonging medications.