Nadeem R. Abu-Rustum, MD, FACOG, FACS

As Chief of MSK’s Gynecologic Service, I lead a team of surgeons that performs close to 3,000 gynecologic procedures each year, providing surgical intervention for approximately 600 new cases of endometrial cancer and 500 new cases of ovarian tubal peritoneal cancer, 100 cases of cervical cancer, and 75 cases of vulva cancer annually. Our group of surgeons is highly collaborative in nature and meets weekly to discuss care strategies for all complex and challenging gynecologic cancer cases at MSK. We draw upon the expertise of our disease management team at large to provide the care that will get our patients the best possible outcomes. In addition to my role as Chief of our Gynecologic Service, I am a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Weill Cornell Medical College.

I have a special interest in minimally invasive surgery (laparoscopy) for the treatment of cancerous and noncancerous diseases of the female reproductive system. My clinical expertise includes minimally invasive and advanced gynecologic surgery for cancers of the ovary, uterus, vulva, and cervix. For selected women who are at an increased risk for ovarian cancer — such as those with a strong family history of breast and ovarian cancer, Lynch syndrome, or mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes — we offer laparoscopic prophylactic surgery, if desired, to reduce their risk for disease development.

I also have extensive experience in treating endometrial and cervical cancer. Over the past 20 years, I have pioneered many of the surgical approaches that we use to treat stage 1 cervical cancer, such as radical trachelectomy — a procedure that can preserve fertility in select patients with early-stage cervical cancer. Additionally, I led the effort to investigate and utilize sentinel lymph node mapping — a novel approach for cervical and uterine cancer management that is now being adopted by many oncology practices nationally and internationally. This procedure may improve the detection of cancer that has spread to lymph nodes and limit the side effects of radical surgery.

My clinical research focuses on surgical therapy for gynecologic cancers and innovative surgical approaches to treating gynecologic disorders, such as sentinel node mapping, improved localization of tumors, and fertility-sparing surgery. I am actively involved in the development and improvement of surgical techniques and oversee our surgical research programs. It is my responsibility to ensure that quality surgical care and patient safety are maintained for all gynecologic patients at our institution. Providing this level of service is the utmost priority in my own practice.

I have served as a member of the Gynecologic Oncology Group’s Cervix Committee and the American College of Surgeons’ Committee on Emerging Surgical Technology and Education, and I chair the National Comprehensive Cancer Network’s Uterine Neoplasms, Cervical Cancer, and Vulvar Cancer Committees.

I spend two full days in the operating room each week. I also see patients in the clinic twice a week at MSK’s Rockefeller Outpatient Pavilion on East 53rd Street (between Lexington and Third Avenues) in Manhattan.

When I am not caring for patients with gynecologic cancers, I enjoy traveling, carpentry, astronomy, and spending time with family.