Loren Scott Michel, MD

Head and Neck Medical Oncologist

My Role at MSK

Areas of Expertise

My Specialties

Head & Neck Medical Oncology
Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Skin
Targeted Therapy

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Dr. Michel's Office Information

Languages: English & Spanish

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English

About Me

What I Do at MSK

Attending Physician

Get To Know Me

I am a medical oncologist who cares for people with head and neck cancers, including squamous cell carcinoma and thyroid cancer.

I see about 400 patients each year at Memorial Sloan Kettering Basking Ridge and Memorial Sloan Kettering Nassau. I have nearly 20 years of experience and am committed to helping my patients fight and beat cancer. There is nothing more meaningful to me in life than this pursuit.

I specialize in treating squamous cell cancer of the mucosal surfaces, including the lips, mouth, throat, voicebox, and nasopharynx. I am particularly interested in treating patients whose tumors are caused by smoking or viruses, such as HPV and the Epstein-Barr virus.

I also have expertise in caring for people with squamous cell carcinoma of the skin. This is a common type of skin cancer that can be deadly if it recurs or spreads to other parts of the body. Incurable squamous cell carcinoma of the skin is rare, but I have extensive experience in treating patients whose disease can’t be cured with surgery or radiation.

I spend a lot of time thinking about the best treatment approach for each patient. It’s critical to find options that will maximize the chance of a cure and minimize side effects. For my patients who have incurable disease, I especially weigh the potential of therapies that will prolong life or reduce symptoms against any side effects. Quality of life always comes first.

The goal of my research is to develop new treatment approaches for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. We recently published the results of the first trial of palbociclib for treating head and neck cancer. Palbociclib is a pill that targets a specific genetic defect that is found in nearly all HPV-unrelated squamous cell cancers of the head and neck. This drug is likely to provide a significant benefit for the treatment of incurable head and neck squamous cell cancer. My long-term goal is to develop more of these types of therapies that will help improve cure rates.

My Role at MSK

A head and neck medical oncologist is a cancer doctor who specializes in head and neck cancers. This includes cancers of the larynx, lips, mouth, nose, salivary glands, and throat.

My Specialties

Head & Neck Medical Oncology
Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Skin
Targeted Therapy

Education

MD, Case Western Reserve University

Residencies

Internal Medicine - Mount Sinai School of Medicine

Awards and Honors

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Clinical Scholars Award
AACR-Sidney Kimmel Foundation for Cancer Research Fellowship in Basic Research
Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation Clinical Investigator Award

Fellowships

Hematology/Oncology - Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Board Certifications

Medical Oncology

Insurance Information

Understanding your insurance options is an important part of managing your cancer care. We have relationships with many common healthcare providers and plans.

Aetna

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO PPO, POS, Transplant

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Aetna Medicare Advantage (MTA and NYC retirees only)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

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Anthem BCBS and other BCBS licensee plans

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

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Anthem BCBS Health Plus

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

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Anthem Blue Cross Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO, DSN

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Blue Cross Blue Shield Federal Employee Program

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, PPO

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Blue Cross Blue Shield states outside of NY/NJ

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO PPO, POS

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Carrum Health

In Network Coverage Type
Supplemental

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Cigna

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO

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Connecticare

In Network Coverage Type
POS, EPO, HMO

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Emblem

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Emblem to learn more.

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Emblem Essential

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

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Emblem Medicare Advantage (Medicare Choice PPO Network and VIP Prime Network Only)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO

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Empire Essential

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

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

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

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Fidelis

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO

Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Fidelis to learn more.

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Fidelis Managed Medicaid & HARP

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

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Fidelis Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

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First Health

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

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Healthfirst

In Network Coverage Type
EPO, HMO, PPO, POS

Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Healthfirst to learn more.

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Healthfirst Managed Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

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Healthfirst Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, PPO

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Healthsmart

In Network Coverage Type
PPO EPO

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Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey (HMO)

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

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Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey (PPO)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

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

In Network Coverage Type
EPO

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

In Network Coverage Type
EPO

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Horizon Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO

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Husky CT Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

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Magnacare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO

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Straight NJ Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

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Straight NY Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

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Medicare Part A&B (traditional Medicare)

In Network Coverage Type
Federal Government

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Multiplan/Beech Street/PHCS

In Network Coverage Type
Supplemental

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MVP

In Network Coverage Type
PPO/OAP

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Non-Participating Plans with Out of Network Benefits

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

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NYC Medicare Advantage Plus for City Employees

In Network Coverage Type
TBD

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Oscar

In Network Coverage Type
HMO/EPO

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Oxford

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, EPO

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World Trade Center Health Program (WTC)

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

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Qualcare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO

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Tricare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO

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UMR

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS

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United Healthcare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO

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Don't see your carrier or plan? We can help you understand your coverage.

If you don't have health insurance or are worried that your care may not be fully covered, our financial assistance programs may be able to help.

If you have questions about insurance, call us at 646-497-9176.

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New Patients

Scheduling an appointment is easy. Click or call 646-497-9161— we’re available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

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Current Patients

Request an appointment by logging on to MyMSK or calling your doctor’s office. If you aren’t registered for MyMSK, call 646-227-2593 for your Enrollment ID.

Contact and Location

Dr. Michel sees patients at two locations.

Office Phone

848-225-6113

Location

Basking Ridge, NJ

New York, NY

Looking to see a doctor at a different location? See all MSK locations.

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.

See all Head and Neck Oncology Service doctors

Clinical Trials

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

Oral Oncology, Michel, L. et al 2016: Phase I trial of palbociclib, a selective cyclin dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitor, in combination with cetuximab in patients with recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Publications on PubMed

Visit PubMed for a full listing of Dr. Michel’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.

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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.

Loren Scott Michel discloses the following relationships and financial interests:

KisoJi Biotechnology Inc.
Professional Services and Activities

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 a complement to other publicly reported data and 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, 2023 through disclosure submission in spring 2024). 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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