Dr. Karim A. Touijer

When a referral for prostate, kidney, bladder, or adrenal cancer arrives at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Dr. Karim A. Touijer, Chief of the Urology Service, ensures an integrated team convenes before any patient steps into clinic. Medical oncologists, urologic surgeons, radiation oncologists, interventional radiologists, pathologists, radiologists, pharmacists, social-work specialists, and nurse navigators review multiphase CT scans, PSMA-PET imaging, germline and somatic sequencing, renal-function and bone-density assessments, and the individual’s personal life goals, allowing surgery, radioligand therapy, systemic treatment, and supportive care to follow a single, coordinated plan. Schedulers then reserve operating‐room blocks, robotic‐assisted laparoscopic suites, fertility consultations, and rehabilitation appointments in one calendar block, while financial-advocacy staff confirm authorizations and anticipate copay needs in advance. At the first face-to-face visit, Dr. Touijer translates complex terms—such as tumor‐vessel abutment, nephron‐sparing resection, or oligometastatic disease—into clear, understandable explanations, and provides each patient with a printed roadmap that outlines every appointment, from diagnosis through survivorship. That same plan is uploaded to the secure patient portal so all clinicians see and follow identical guidance. Follow-up telemedicine check-ins tied to laboratory or imaging milestones keep those living far from New York engaged without disruptive travel. This tightly aligned approach reduces duplicate testing, shortens time to therapy, and offers patients the unwavering confidence of a unified team guiding every step.

 

Dr. Touijer’s research laboratory sits side by side with his clinical practice, turning emerging science into bedside therapy. His translational program explores how tumor‐vessel interaction in localized kidney cancer predicts recurrence risk, and it investigates molecular drivers—such as MET amplification, VHL mutation, and mTOR pathway alterations—that guide targeted therapies. A flagship study uses quantitative radiomics from 68Ga‐PSMA PET imaging to identify small renal masses most amenable to partial nephrectomy or ablation, correlating those imaging signatures with gene expression profiles from fresh‐frozen tissue. Parallel efforts in prostate cancer examine AR‐V7 splice variant detection in circulating tumor cells to steer patients toward chemotherapy rather than ineffective hormonal therapy. Blood, tissue, and imaging metadata collected at each clinic visit feed a living biobank that pairs genomic drift with radiographic response, compressing the gap between laboratory hypothesis and patient‐specific treatment. Correlative studies have shown that high peritumoral microvessel density on preoperative imaging correlates with shorter disease-free survival, information now integrated into consent discussions to manage expectations and avoid overtreatment. By embedding translational insight into routine care, Dr. Touijer tailors therapy to each tumor’s precise biology while preserving kidney function, sexual health, and quality of life.

 

Beyond patient care and laboratory investigations, Dr. Touijer dedicates substantial effort to education and community outreach. As a Professor of Urology, he mentors residents and fellows through weekly case‐based seminars that emphasize careful evidence appraisal alongside compassionate patient communication. He co‐authored national guidelines on partial versus radical nephrectomy that stress the importance of nephron‐sparing surgery to mitigate long‐term renal morbidity. In the public sphere, Dr. Touijer hosts webinars explaining minimally invasive options—such as robotic laparoscopic surgery and image‐guided ablation—for kidney and prostate cancers. These sessions are captioned, translated into Spanish, Mandarin, and Arabic, and archived for on‐demand access, allowing families from all backgrounds to revisit key information at their own pace. He co‐founded a teleconsult platform that allows rural and community oncologists to upload imaging and surgical videos for same‐day expert feedback, reducing the need for patients to travel long distances to tertiary centers. Within Memorial Sloan Kettering, Dr. Touijer championed a patient‐reported outcome dashboard that alerts nurses to rising pain scores or declining functional status between visits, prompting timely intervention to maintain comfort and adherence. These efforts transform complex surgical science into practical tools, empowering patients and caregivers to participate confidently in decisions that shape their cancer journey.