Elizabeth R. Plimack

Elizabeth R. Plimack, MD, MS is Chief of the Division of Genitourinary Medical Oncology and Professor of Hematology/Oncology at Fox Chase Cancer Center, Temple University Health System. She is a nationally recognized leader in bladder cancer clinical trials and translational research, known for her expertise in biomarker-driven therapy and her pivotal role in practice-changing trials that have reshaped the treatment of advanced urothelial carcinoma. Dr. Plimack was a co-principal investigator for the EV-302 trial (also called KEYNOTE-EV), the landmark phase III study demonstrating that enfortumab vedotin combined with pembrolizumab significantly improved overall survival and progression-free survival compared to platinum-based chemotherapy in previously untreated advanced urothelial carcinoma, establishing a chemotherapy-free first-line standard. Her translational research program at Fox Chase is particularly recognized for discoveries related to DNA damage response (DDR) alterations in bladder cancer. She identified ERCC2 somatic mutations as predictive biomarkers of complete pathological response to cisplatin-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy in muscle-invasive bladder cancer, a finding with major implications for precision perioperative therapy. Dr. Plimack has been a co-investigator on multiple KEYNOTE bladder cancer trials, leads the genitourinary oncology clinical trials portfolio at Fox Chase, and serves on ASCO, NCCN, and SWOG committee panels for bladder and kidney cancer.