Phillip M. Pierorazio, MD

I am a board-certified urologist with training and expertise in urologic cancers.  I have expertise in all malignancies of the urinary tract, but my clinical and academic practice focuses on kidney cancer (renal cell carcinoma), testicular cancer (germ cell tumors), upper tract urothelial cancer, and prostate cancer.  I offer patients both open and minimally invasive surgeries including laparoscopic and robotic surgeries of the kidney, bladder, prostate, and retroperitoneal lymph node dissection for testicular cancer.  I am a firm believer that surgery is a last option and prefer non-operative management whenever possible – but routinely perform surgeries for complex cancers and patients. 

My research team includes basic science researchers, statisticians, and other urologists both inside and outside Penn Medicine.  We focus on cancer biomarkers, improving outcomes for complex surgeries, evaluating the quality of care through a cancer journey, and minimizing the impact of surgical treatments.  I run the Delayed Intervention and Surveillance for Small Renal Masses (DISSRM) Registry - one of the largest active surveillance registries for patients with small kidney tumors. I am involved in a number of national guideline panels, including both the American Urological Association (AUA) and National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Guidelines Committees, for Kidney, Testicular and Upper Tract Urothelial Cancer. 

While I experience tremendous satisfaction from generating research and guidelines that influence the care of cancer patients around the world, in my opinion, there is no greater impact in medicine than taking a patient through a cancer journey.  My greatest joy comes from the relationships we build through diagnosis, treatment, and the survivorship journey.