Thomas Westbrook, MD

Research Interests

I'm a genitourinary medical oncologist, and my research is focused on understanding why cancers of the prostate and kidney stop responding to treatment over time, and finding better ways to overcome that resistance. In prostate cancer, I study how tumors can transform themselves at a cellular level to evade hormone-blocking therapies, with the goal of predicting which patients are at risk and developing drug combinations that can head off this transformation before it takes hold. I also study how genetic and molecular information from a patient's tumor can help explain why treatment responses vary so much from person to person, and how that information might be used to guide more personalized care. In kidney cancer, my research explores whether combining precisely targeted radiation with standard drug therapies can help control cancer that is progressing in only a few areas, potentially allowing patients to stay on effective treatments longer, and whether pairing radiation with immune-based therapies can help the body's own immune system fight the cancer more effectively. I maintain an active clinical trials program and have served as principal investigator on trials spanning the full range of genitourinary cancers, including prostate, kidney, bladder and testicular cancer, giving my patients access to the newest and most promising treatment options.