Paul E. Oberstein, MD

I was drawn to a career in medicine because of my dual interests in science and working with people. I wanted to use emerging scientific discoveries to change people’s lives and manage their illnesses, which led me to the specialty of gastrointestinal oncology. Because I had a strong research background in the field and a commitment to sharing new insights with patients, I knew it was an area that would allow me to make substantial contributions.

As a medical oncologist who focuses on cancers of the gastrointestinal tract, I treat people with various types of cancer, including stomach, pancreatic, colorectal, bile duct, and liver cancers. I am also the assistant director of the Pancreatic Cancer Center, part of NYU Langone’s Perlmutter Cancer Center, where we focus exclusively on research and treatment for people who have pancreatic cancer.

At Perlmutter Cancer Center, we take a patient-centered and collaborative approach to care. We understand that we’re caring for people who have conditions that can be difficult to manage, and are sensitive to the full spectrum of their needs. We want to address all of the issues a patient is confronting, including treating and alleviating cancer-related symptoms. The care we provide is unique because we can involve many specialists across our network at the same time. This allows us to address all aspects of a person’s care and begin treatment as quickly as possible.

We have a deep commitment to education, and our aim is to effectively communicate disease and treatment information to our patients. We often have the opportunity to offer new treatments, and we want patients to understand these options and actively participate in their own care. There are many moving parts in cancer care, and we make sure to present the data as clearly as possible so our patients understand every facet of the process. All of our experts share this philosophy.

Our treatments are research-driven. We participate in many clinical trials with the hope of providing our patients with newer and better treatment options, such as immunotherapy and novel chemotherapy combinations, along with better supportive and nutritional care. We also focus on translational research, which means we collaborate with scientists who have made novel discoveries and help translate these discoveries into new treatments. Our goal is to involve our patients in our research so we can develop new insights on difficult-to-treat cancers and apply these discoveries to patient care in a fast and practical way.

I am a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the American Association for Cancer Research. I am also the recipient of an ASCO Young Investigator Award for my work in clinical trials and a KL2 Career Development Award from the National Cancer Institute. I currently run and participate in numerous clinical trials, and encourage every person I treat to learn more about clinical trials and play an active role in his or her treatment.