Memorial Sloan Kettering pediatric oncologist Leonard Wexler

Leonard H. Wexler, MD

Pediatric Oncologist

Titles

Attending Pediatrician

Clinical Expertise

Pediatric Oncology; Bone and Soft Tissue Sarcomas; Anthracycline Cardiotoxicity/Cardioprotection; Supportive Care

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833-MSK-KIDS
Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., (Eastern time)
Accepted Insurance Providers

Dr. Wexler accepts the following list of insurance providers. Select your insurance provider to see more details.

Aetna

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): HMO, EPO PPO, POS, Transplant

Aetna Medicare Advantage (City of NY retirees only, starting 9/1/23)

Payor Type: Medicare/Medicare Advantage
In Network Coverage Type(s): PPO

Blue Cross Blue Shield Federal Employee Program

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): HMO, PPO

Blue Cross Blue Shield New York

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

Blue Cross Blue Shield states outside of NY/NJ

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): HMO, EPO PPO, POS

Blue Cross Health Plus

Payor Type: Medicaid/Managed Medicaid
In Network Coverage Type(s): HMO

Carrum Health

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): Supplemental

Cigna

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): PPO, POS, HMO

Connecticare

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): POS, EPO, HMO

Emblem

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

Emblem Essential

Payor Type: Medicaid/Managed Medicaid
In Network Coverage Type(s): HMO

Emblem Medicare Advantage

Payor Type: Medicare/Medicare Advantage
In Network Coverage Type(s): PPO, HMO

Empire Blue Cross Medicare Advantage

Payor Type: Medicare/Medicare Advantage
In Network Coverage Type(s): PPO, HMO, DSN

Empire Essential

Payor Type: Medicaid/Managed Medicaid
In Network Coverage Type(s): HMO

Empire Plan / NYSHIP (Blue Cross/UnitedHealthcare split plan)

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): PPO

Fidelis

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): HMO, EPO

Fidelis Managed Medicaid & HARP

Payor Type: Medicaid/Managed Medicaid
In Network Coverage Type(s): HMO

Fidelis Medicare Advantage

Payor Type: Medicare/Medicare Advantage
In Network Coverage Type(s): HMO

First Health

Payor Type: Medicare/Medicare Advantage
In Network Coverage Type(s): PPO

Healthfirst

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): EPO, HMO, PPO, POS

Healthfirst Managed Medicaid

Payor Type: Medicaid/Managed Medicaid
In Network Coverage Type(s): HMO

Healthfirst Medicare Advantage

Payor Type: Medicare/Medicare Advantage
In Network Coverage Type(s): HMO, PPO

Healthsmart

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): PPO EPO

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey (HMO)

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): HMO

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey (PPO)

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): PPO

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey Omnia Tier I (EPO)

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): EPO

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey Omnia Tier II (EPO)

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): EPO

Horizon Medicare Advantage

Payor Type: Medicare/Medicare Advantage
In Network Coverage Type(s): PPO, HMO

Husky CT Medicaid

Payor Type: Medicaid/Managed Medicaid
In Network Coverage Type(s): State Government

Magnacare

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): PPO, POS, EPO

Straight NJ Medicaid

Payor Type: Medicaid/Managed Medicaid
In Network Coverage Type(s): State Government

Straight NY Medicaid

Payor Type: Medicaid/Managed Medicaid
In Network Coverage Type(s): State Government

Medicare Part A&B (traditional Medicare)

Payor Type: Medicare/Medicare Advantage
In Network Coverage Type(s): Federal Government

Multiplan/Beech Street/PHCS

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): Supplemental

MVP

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): PPO/OAP

Non-Participating Plans with Out of Network Benefits

Payor Type: Other
In Network Coverage Type(s): PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

NYC Medicare Advantage Plus for City Employees

Payor Type: Medicare/Medicare Advantage
In Network Coverage Type(s): TBD

Oscar

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): HMO/EPO

Oxford

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): PPO, EPO

World Trade Center Health Program (WTC)

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): State Government

Qualcare

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): PPO, POS, HMO

Tricare

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): PPO, HMO

UMR

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): PPO, POS

United Healthcare

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): PPO, POS, HMO

Contact and Location

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Find a Convenient Location

Memorial Sloan Kettering has locations throughout New York City, Long Island, New Jersey, and Westchester. These locations offer many services, including screening, chemotherapy, and medical testing.

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About Me

Education

MD, Boston University School of Medicine

Residencies

General Pediatrics - Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Montefiore Medical Center

Fellowships

Pediatric Hematology/Oncology - National Cancer Institute

Board Certifications

Pediatrics; Pediatric Hematology-Oncology

I am a pediatric oncologist at MSK Kids with a special interest in treating children, adolescents, and young adults with sarcomas of the bone and soft tissues. These are rare tumors — fewer than 2,000 cases are diagnosed in United States each year. I work with a team of oncologists, pediatric and orthopedic surgeons, and radiation therapists to offer unique expertise and treatment options to patients with both newly diagnosed sarcomas and those that came back after previous treatment.

I co-directed an international study to evaluate the effectiveness of chemotherapy for children with osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer. I am leading a clinical trial for children with Ewing’s sarcoma in first relapse which is comparing outcomes with chemotherapy alone versus the same chemotherapy combined with a vaccine developed from a patient’s own tumor.

Some of the chemotherapy drugs that we use to treat children may injure heart tissue. I have been involved in the development and assessment of dexrazoxane, a drug we now routinely use to protect heart tissue in children who are receiving doxorubicin as part of their treatment.

To educate the next generation of physicians, I am one of the lead attending physicians on the faculty-fellow team, which is designed to work closely with young doctors who are training in this subspecialty to help them learn how best to identify the individual needs of patients and manage the care of children with cancer.

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Nationally, I have served on the National Comprehensive Cancer Network committee on fatigue in people with cancer. I also serve on Memorial Sloan Kettering’s fertility preservation committee to develop standards to refer patients for counseling and options.

My colleagues and I at MSK Kids form a team of individuals who extend the same family-centered, holistic philosophy of care to our young adult and adult patients as well as our younger pediatric patients. We try to connect with our patients and their families on a very personal level. Many of us maintain relationships with our patients outside of the hospital. I find great satisfaction in attending major life milestones such as weddings, births, Bar Mitzvahs, and confirmations.

Each year, I volunteer my time to work with children at Camp Simcha, a summer camp for children battling cancer. I find it incredibly rewarding to care for children — they are courageous and indomitable. They just want to finish treatment and go back to being kids who play and go to school. I am amazed at the strength of their families during this time as well, and I am as devoted to helping their children get better as if they were my own.

I am as devoted to helping children get better as if they were my own.

-Dr. Wexler

Awards and Honors

  • Castle Connolly: America's Top Doctors (2000-2023)
  • New York Magazine Top Doctors (2005-2009, 2011-2020)

Colleagues

Doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering work as teams, with specialists from all different areas. This allows us to consider all your needs together, and to give you the best possible care.

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Clinical Trials

Smiling doctors in the lab
Find a Clinical Trial for You

Memorial Sloan Kettering's doctors and scientists are constantly developing new treatments for cancer. MSK is typically running hundreds of clinical trials at a given time.

You may be able to participate in a clinical trial even if you are new to MSK. Search our online directory to find trial information and see more about who can participate.

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Research and Publications

Publications on PubMed

Visit PubMed for a full listing of Dr. Wexler’s journal articles. Pubmed is an online index of research papers and other articles from the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.

See all on PubMed

Disclosures

Doctors and faculty members often work with pharmaceutical, device, biotechnology, and life sciences companies, and other organizations outside of MSK, to find safe and effective cancer treatments, to improve patient care, and to educate the health care community.

MSK requires doctors and faculty members to report (“disclose”) the relationships and financial interests they have with external entities. As a commitment to transparency with our community, we make that information available to the public.

Leonard H. Wexler discloses the following relationships and financial interests:

No disclosures meeting criteria for time period


If you’re a patient at MSK and would like more information about your doctor’s external relationships, please talk with your doctor.

The information published here is for a specific annual disclosure period. There may be differences between information on this and other public sites as a result of different reporting periods and/or the various ways relationships and financial interests are categorized by organizations that publish such data.

This page and data include information for a specific MSK annual disclosure period (January 1, 2021 through disclosure submission in spring 2022). This data reflects interests that may or may not still exist. This data is updated annually.

Learn more about MSK’s COI policies here. For questions regarding MSK’s COI-related policies and procedures, email MSK’s Compliance Office at [email protected].


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