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Elizabeth Plimack, MD, MS
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- Clinical Locations
- About
- Education and Training
- Patient Stories
- Research Profile
- Publications
- Ratings
Clinical Locations
Primary Location
Fox Chase Cancer Center
333 Cottman Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19111
About
Chief, Division of Genitourinary Medical Oncology
Professor, Department of Hematology/Oncology
Director, Genitourinary Clinical Research
NCCN, Bladder/Penile Cancers Panel Member
NCCN, Kidney Cancer Panel Member
NCCN, Prostate Cancer Panel Member
Specialties
Research Program
Key Awards
Medical Oncology
Treatment Philosophy
With a diagnosis of cancer comes uncertainty and fear for many patients. As a medical oncologist, my first job is to help each patient understand his or her diagnosis. With that understanding, together we can design the best plan of action. At Fox Chase, each patient has the benefit of an interdisciplinary team working together to ensure the highest quality care. This interdisciplinary approach is crucial in determining and implementing the best treatment plan.
I specialize in the treatment of kidney, bladder, prostate and testicular cancer, and my clinical practice is focused on these diseases. By concentrating exclusively on genitourinary malignancies I am able to offer expert knowledge as well as access to both standard treatments and emerging therapies in the form of clinical trials. The pace of scientific discovery has accelerated in recent decades, and fortunately we have seen these discoveries translate into meaningful improvements in cancer treatments.
As part of the genitourinary group here at Fox Chase, I am proud to be a part of a team of distinguished researchers who have pioneered many of these new treatments. My particular research efforts focus on the development of new therapies for bladder and kidney cancer.
Education and Training
Educational Background
- Chief Fellow, Medical Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
- Intern and Resident, Internal Medicine, New York University Medical Center / Bellevue Hospital, NY
- MS, Patient-Based Biologic Research, University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 2008
- MD with Honors in Pathology, New York University School of Medicine, 2002
Memberships
- National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN)
- Bladder/Penile Cancers Panel
- Kidney/Testicular Cancers Panel
- Prostate Cancer Panel
- American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)
- 2015-2018 — ASCO Scientific Committee, Genitourinary (non-prostate)
- 2016-2017 — Track Chair, ASCO Scientific Committee, Genitourinary (non-prostate)
- 2020-2024 — Elected Member, ASCO Board of Directors
- Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network (BCAN)
- 2013-2019 — BCAN Think Tank Steering Committee
- 2016-2017 — Co-Chair, 2017 BCAN Think Tank
- 2017-2018 — Chair, 2018 BCAN Think Tank
- 2014 — Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network Young Investigator Award Study Section
- 2015-2018 — Chair, Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network Young Investigator Award Study Section
- 2018-Present — Bladder Cancer Research Network (BCRN) Management Committee
- 2020-2023 — Chair, BCAN Scientific Advisory Board
- Department of Defense (DOD) Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) Study Section
- 2015, 2016, 2017 — Reviewer, Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program (PRCRP), Kidney Cancer
- 2020 — Chair, Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program (PRCRP), Kidney Cancer
- 2021 — Programmatic Panel Member. Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs: Kidney Cancer
Honors & Awards
- Philadelphia Magazine Top Doctors, 2017-20
- Best Doctors in America® , 2019-2020, Medical Oncology and Hematology
- America's Top Doctors®, 2017
- Leadership Forum Excellence Award, Fox Chase Cancer Center, 2012
- Humanitas Award, Division of Cancer Medicine Hematology/Oncology Fellowship, MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2008
- Award for Achievement in Clinical Investigation, Division of Cancer Medicine, MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2008
- Research Forum, MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2008
- Honorable Mention, First Annual Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Program, 2008
- ASCO Foundation Merit Award, ASCO Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, 2008
Patient Stories
Ted Ritter
Bladder Cancer
Ted Ritter
Bladder Cancer
Ted Ritter, a mechanical engineer, spent 20 years running his own business. He spent the last 10 administrating a small municipality in South Jersey. During this time, he and his wife, Sheila, raised four children. In January 2010, Ted, who was 66, retired, moving forward to the next chapter of his life which was to include time in Florida, golf, exercise and some part-time work. But life doesn't always cooperate with your plans.
Marcia Renouf
Bladder Cancer
Marcia Renouf
Bladder Cancer
"I continue to be cancer free 5 years after I was diagnosed with bladder cancer and was successfully treated with chemotherapy and surgery."
Peter Hagerty
Testicular Cancer
Peter Hagerty
Testicular Cancer
Peter Hagerty was shocked to learn he had testicular cancer at the age of 36. He sought treatment at Fox Chase Cancer Center after having surgery to remove his testicule at a nearby hospital, where he learned the cancer had spread. After four cycles of chemotherapy, he was ready for surgery, a retroperitoneal lymph node dissection, which removed the cancer and reduced the risk of recurrence. Today Peter is cancer free and back to work as a police officer. "My wife and I were really happy with the care I received at Fox Chase," he said. "I really could have gone anywhere, and we drove past all the big Philadelphia university hospitals on our way to Fox Chase. But I chose it because all they deal with is cancer."
Henry "Bud" Olencki
Bladder Cancer
Henry "Bud" Olencki
Bladder Cancer
Living with cancer wasn't new to Henry "Bud" Olencki. Diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2003, Bud had localized tumors removed surgically on several occasions. But when the cancer spread to his prostatic urethra in 2009 what had become routine just wasn't working anymore. His urologist said to save his life, Bud would have to have his bladder and prostate removed.
Jay Kernan
Bladder Cancer
Jay Kernan
Bladder Cancer
In July 2009, Jay Kernan was referred to a local urologist to treat urinary bleeding and pain. Following several rounds of tests, Jay was diagnosed with advanced stage bladder cancer. “The urologist suggested I see an expert at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia,” shares Jay, who resides with his wife, Gaetana, in a rural section of Salem County, NJ. Gaetana expressed her desire for Jay to be treated in Philadelphia, where more advanced cancer treatment is available. Jay called Fox Chase and made an appointment with Richard E. Greenberg, MD, FACS, chief of urologic surgery and Elizabeth Plimack, MD, MS, a medical oncologist at Fox Chase. Both specialize in treating patients with advanced bladder cancer.
Pages
Research Profile
Research Program
Research Interests
- Biomarkers predictive of response to neoadjuvant cisplatin based chemotherapy in bladder cancer
- Refining neoadjuvant chemotherapy regimens for bladder cancer
- Developmental Therapeutics – early stage clinical trials of novel agents
- Immunotherapy in GU Malignancies
Publications
Selected Publications
Bamias A, Tzannis K, Bamia C, Harshman LC, Crabb S, Plimack ER, Pal S, De Giorgi U, Ladoire S, Theodore C, Agarwal N, Yu EY, Niegisch G, Sternberg CN, Srinivas S, Vaishampayan U, Necchi A, Liontos M, Rosenberg JE, Powles T, Bellmunt J, Galsky MD. The Impact of Cisplatin- or Non-Cisplatin-Containing Chemotherapy on Long-Term and Conditional Survival of Patients with Advanced Urinary Tract Cancer. The oncologist, 2019.
Changa NM, Xie WL, Bilen MA, Dzimitrowicz H, Burkart J, Geynisman DM, Balakrishnan A, Bowman IA, Jain R, Stadler W, Zakharia Y, Narayan V, Beuselinck B, McKay RR, Tripathi A, Pachynski R, Hahn AW, Hsu J, Shah SA, Lam ET, Rose TL, Mega AE, Vogelzang N, Harrison MR, Mortazavi A, Plimack ER, Vaishampayan U, Hammers H, George S, Haas N, Agarwal N, Pal SK, Srinivas S, Carneiro BA, Heng DYC, Bosse D, Choueiri TK, Harshman LC. Cabozantinib in advanced non-clear-cell renal cell carcinoma: a multicentre, retrospective, cohort study. Lancet Oncology, 20(4):581-90, 2019.
Rouvinov K, Plimack ER, Zibelman M, Ghatalia P, Geynisman DM. Update on perioperative systemic therapy for urothelial carcinoma. Clinical advances in hematology & oncology : H&O, 17(3):176-83, 2019.
Voss MH, Bhatt RS, Vogelzang NJ, Fishman M, Alter RS, Rini BI, Beck JT, Joshi M, Hauke R, Atkins MB, Burgess E, Logan TF, Shaffer D, Parikh R, Moazzam N, Zhang X, Glasser C, Sherman ML, Plimack ER. A phase 2, randomized trial evaluating the combination of dalantercept plus axitinib in patients with advanced clear cell renal cell carcinoma. Cancer, 2019.
Amin A, Plimack ER, Ernstoff MS, Lewis LD, Bauer TM, McDermott DF, Carducci M, Kollmannsberger C, Rini BI, Heng DYC, Knox J, Voss MH, Spratlin J, Berghorn E, Yang L, Hammers HJ. Correction to: Safety and efficacy of nivolumab in combination with sunitinib or pazopanib in advanced or metastatic renal cell carcinoma: the CheckMate 016 study. Journal for immunotherapy of cancer, 7(1):73, 2019. PMC6416882
He AR, Cohen RB, Denlinger CS, Sama A, Birnbaum A, Hwang J, Sato T, Lewis N, Mynderse M, Niland M, Giles J, Wallin J, Moser B, Zhang W, Walgren R, Plimack ER. First-in-Human Phase I Study of Merestinib, an Oral Multikinase Inhibitor, in Patients with Advanced Cancer. The oncologist, 2019.
Martinez Chanza N, Xie W, Asim Bilen M, Dzimitrowicz H, Burkart J, Geynisman DM, Balakrishnan A, Bowman IA, Jain R, Stadler W, Zakharia Y, Narayan V, Beuselinck B, McKay RR, Tripathi A, Pachynski R, Hahn AW, Hsu J, Shah SA, Lam ET, Rose TL, Mega AE, Vogelzang N, Harrison MR, Mortazavi A, Plimack ER, Vaishampayan U, Hammers H, George S, Haas N, Agarwal N, Pal SK, Srinivas S, Carneiro BA, Heng DYC, Bosse D, Choueiri TK, Harshman LC. Cabozantinib in advanced non-clear-cell renal cell carcinoma: a multicentre, retrospective, cohort study. The Lancet Oncology, 2019.
Godwin JL, Hoffman-Censits J, Plimack E. Recent developments in the treatment of advanced bladder cancer. Urologic oncology, 36(3):109-14, 2018. PubMed
Geynisman DM, Abbosh PH, Plimack ER, Zibelman M. Chemoimmunotherapy in Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma. Eur Urol, 2018.
Additional Publications
Clinical Locations
Primary Location
Fox Chase Cancer Center
333 Cottman Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19111
Chief, Division of Genitourinary Medical Oncology
Professor, Department of Hematology/Oncology
Director, Genitourinary Clinical Research
NCCN, Bladder/Penile Cancers Panel Member
NCCN, Kidney Cancer Panel Member
NCCN, Prostate Cancer Panel Member
Research Program
Key Awards
Medical Oncology
Treatment Philosophy
With a diagnosis of cancer comes uncertainty and fear for many patients. As a medical oncologist, my first job is to help each patient understand his or her diagnosis. With that understanding, together we can design the best plan of action. At Fox Chase, each patient has the benefit of an interdisciplinary team working together to ensure the highest quality care. This interdisciplinary approach is crucial in determining and implementing the best treatment plan.
I specialize in the treatment of kidney, bladder, prostate and testicular cancer, and my clinical practice is focused on these diseases. By concentrating exclusively on genitourinary malignancies I am able to offer expert knowledge as well as access to both standard treatments and emerging therapies in the form of clinical trials. The pace of scientific discovery has accelerated in recent decades, and fortunately we have seen these discoveries translate into meaningful improvements in cancer treatments.
As part of the genitourinary group here at Fox Chase, I am proud to be a part of a team of distinguished researchers who have pioneered many of these new treatments. My particular research efforts focus on the development of new therapies for bladder and kidney cancer.
Education
Educational Background
- Chief Fellow, Medical Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
- Intern and Resident, Internal Medicine, New York University Medical Center / Bellevue Hospital, NY
- MS, Patient-Based Biologic Research, University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 2008
- MD with Honors in Pathology, New York University School of Medicine, 2002
Memberships
- National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN)
- Bladder/Penile Cancers Panel
- Kidney/Testicular Cancers Panel
- Prostate Cancer Panel
- American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)
- 2015-2018 — ASCO Scientific Committee, Genitourinary (non-prostate)
- 2016-2017 — Track Chair, ASCO Scientific Committee, Genitourinary (non-prostate)
- 2020-2024 — Elected Member, ASCO Board of Directors
- Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network (BCAN)
- 2013-2019 — BCAN Think Tank Steering Committee
- 2016-2017 — Co-Chair, 2017 BCAN Think Tank
- 2017-2018 — Chair, 2018 BCAN Think Tank
- 2014 — Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network Young Investigator Award Study Section
- 2015-2018 — Chair, Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network Young Investigator Award Study Section
- 2018-Present — Bladder Cancer Research Network (BCRN) Management Committee
- 2020-2023 — Chair, BCAN Scientific Advisory Board
- Department of Defense (DOD) Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) Study Section
- 2015, 2016, 2017 — Reviewer, Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program (PRCRP), Kidney Cancer
- 2020 — Chair, Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program (PRCRP), Kidney Cancer
- 2021 — Programmatic Panel Member. Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs: Kidney Cancer
Honors & Awards
- Philadelphia Magazine Top Doctors, 2017-20
- Best Doctors in America® , 2019-2020, Medical Oncology and Hematology
- America's Top Doctors®, 2017
- Leadership Forum Excellence Award, Fox Chase Cancer Center, 2012
- Humanitas Award, Division of Cancer Medicine Hematology/Oncology Fellowship, MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2008
- Award for Achievement in Clinical Investigation, Division of Cancer Medicine, MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2008
- Research Forum, MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2008
- Honorable Mention, First Annual Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Program, 2008
- ASCO Foundation Merit Award, ASCO Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, 2008
Research Profile
Research Interests
- Biomarkers predictive of response to neoadjuvant cisplatin based chemotherapy in bladder cancer
- Refining neoadjuvant chemotherapy regimens for bladder cancer
- Developmental Therapeutics – early stage clinical trials of novel agents
- Immunotherapy in GU Malignancies
Publications
Selected Publications
Bamias A, Tzannis K, Bamia C, Harshman LC, Crabb S, Plimack ER, Pal S, De Giorgi U, Ladoire S, Theodore C, Agarwal N, Yu EY, Niegisch G, Sternberg CN, Srinivas S, Vaishampayan U, Necchi A, Liontos M, Rosenberg JE, Powles T, Bellmunt J, Galsky MD. The Impact of Cisplatin- or Non-Cisplatin-Containing Chemotherapy on Long-Term and Conditional Survival of Patients with Advanced Urinary Tract Cancer. The oncologist, 2019.
Changa NM, Xie WL, Bilen MA, Dzimitrowicz H, Burkart J, Geynisman DM, Balakrishnan A, Bowman IA, Jain R, Stadler W, Zakharia Y, Narayan V, Beuselinck B, McKay RR, Tripathi A, Pachynski R, Hahn AW, Hsu J, Shah SA, Lam ET, Rose TL, Mega AE, Vogelzang N, Harrison MR, Mortazavi A, Plimack ER, Vaishampayan U, Hammers H, George S, Haas N, Agarwal N, Pal SK, Srinivas S, Carneiro BA, Heng DYC, Bosse D, Choueiri TK, Harshman LC. Cabozantinib in advanced non-clear-cell renal cell carcinoma: a multicentre, retrospective, cohort study. Lancet Oncology, 20(4):581-90, 2019.
Rouvinov K, Plimack ER, Zibelman M, Ghatalia P, Geynisman DM. Update on perioperative systemic therapy for urothelial carcinoma. Clinical advances in hematology & oncology : H&O, 17(3):176-83, 2019.
Voss MH, Bhatt RS, Vogelzang NJ, Fishman M, Alter RS, Rini BI, Beck JT, Joshi M, Hauke R, Atkins MB, Burgess E, Logan TF, Shaffer D, Parikh R, Moazzam N, Zhang X, Glasser C, Sherman ML, Plimack ER. A phase 2, randomized trial evaluating the combination of dalantercept plus axitinib in patients with advanced clear cell renal cell carcinoma. Cancer, 2019.
Amin A, Plimack ER, Ernstoff MS, Lewis LD, Bauer TM, McDermott DF, Carducci M, Kollmannsberger C, Rini BI, Heng DYC, Knox J, Voss MH, Spratlin J, Berghorn E, Yang L, Hammers HJ. Correction to: Safety and efficacy of nivolumab in combination with sunitinib or pazopanib in advanced or metastatic renal cell carcinoma: the CheckMate 016 study. Journal for immunotherapy of cancer, 7(1):73, 2019. PMC6416882
He AR, Cohen RB, Denlinger CS, Sama A, Birnbaum A, Hwang J, Sato T, Lewis N, Mynderse M, Niland M, Giles J, Wallin J, Moser B, Zhang W, Walgren R, Plimack ER. First-in-Human Phase I Study of Merestinib, an Oral Multikinase Inhibitor, in Patients with Advanced Cancer. The oncologist, 2019.
Martinez Chanza N, Xie W, Asim Bilen M, Dzimitrowicz H, Burkart J, Geynisman DM, Balakrishnan A, Bowman IA, Jain R, Stadler W, Zakharia Y, Narayan V, Beuselinck B, McKay RR, Tripathi A, Pachynski R, Hahn AW, Hsu J, Shah SA, Lam ET, Rose TL, Mega AE, Vogelzang N, Harrison MR, Mortazavi A, Plimack ER, Vaishampayan U, Hammers H, George S, Haas N, Agarwal N, Pal SK, Srinivas S, Carneiro BA, Heng DYC, Bosse D, Choueiri TK, Harshman LC. Cabozantinib in advanced non-clear-cell renal cell carcinoma: a multicentre, retrospective, cohort study. The Lancet Oncology, 2019.
Godwin JL, Hoffman-Censits J, Plimack E. Recent developments in the treatment of advanced bladder cancer. Urologic oncology, 36(3):109-14, 2018. PubMed
Geynisman DM, Abbosh PH, Plimack ER, Zibelman M. Chemoimmunotherapy in Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma. Eur Urol, 2018.
Additional Publications
Related Articles
22 PATIENT COMMENTS
-
5.0
December 28, 2020
[...] & Dr. Plimack worked together beautifully in the care relationship!
-
5.0
November 25, 2020
Excellent care & courtesy & hopefully excellent results.
-
5.0
September 04, 2020
It was a routine follow up appointment but, Dr. Plimack was thorough as usual.
-
5.0
July 17, 2020
good
-
5.0
June 17, 2020
All visits with Dr. Plimack or one of her staff have been very good. Video visit.
-
5.0
May 25, 2020
Very good.
-
5.0
May 20, 2020
My provider and staff have always been the best!!!!!!
-
5.0
April 23, 2020
Dr Plimack is an outstanding physician. she is a great listener and always answers any questions I may ask. I have a tremendous amount of confidence in Dr Plimack and her treatment of my condition.
-
5.0
April 10, 2020
Very good experience All test went very will
-
5.0
March 23, 2020
Excellent experience.
-
5.0
March 19, 2020
[...] exceptional!
-
5.0
January 13, 2020
Good.
-
5.0
January 09, 2020
Very good experience.
-
5.0
December 30, 2019
Dr. Plimack has always been prepared with test scores, future possibilities, & congenial - 7 years of treatment.
-
5.0
December 19, 2019
Experience was good as always.
-
5.0
November 26, 2019
Have always had a good experience with provider & staff.
-
5.0
November 18, 2019
[...] Dr. Plimack was excellent. Very thoughtful & caring.
-
5.0
November 17, 2019
Dr. Plimack AND HER ASSISTANT, [...], make me feel (and want to) live forever. Fox Chase is a very, very, special place. God bless all.
-
5.0
November 06, 2019
great experience. very informative and knowledgeable of doctor and nurse
-
5.0
October 18, 2019
I cannot express more firmly my appreciation for all that Dr. Plimmack and the staff at Fox Chase for my care and well being.
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