KAREN LU, MD
The bad news: the incidence of endometrial cancer – and the death rate associated with it – is increasing. The good news: Dr. Karen Lu is at the forefront of deciphering its mysteries.
“We’re expanding our efforts and targeting our research to pinpoint exactly which women are at the most risk for endometrial cancer,” says Dr. Lu, professor in MD Anderson’s Department of Gynecologic Oncology. “This year, more than 40,000 women in the United States will be diagnosed with endometrial cancer, making it the most common cancer of the female reproductive system.”
Dr. Lu is Professor and Chair in the Department of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine and holds the J. Taylor Wharton Distinguished Chair in Gynecologic Oncology.
Her main clinical interests include the surgical and medical treatment of women with ovarian and endometrial cancers, as well as the management of women at genetically high risk for these cancers.
She serves as Co-Director for the MD Anderson Clinical Cancer Genetics Program and Director of the High Risk Ovarian Cancer Screening Clinic. She is a national leader in the cancer genetics field and has published seminal articles on hereditary gynecologic cancers. In addition, she serves as Director of the Uterine Cancer Research Program (UCRP) and Principal Investigator of the NCI-sponsored Uterine Cancer Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE).
She leads a research team that aims to apply laboratory-based findings to improving the care of gynecologic cancer patients. She has published numerous articles and book chapters, and has served as a visiting professor at many academic institutions.
She serves on the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Cancer Prevention Committee, the NCI PDQ Editorial Board for Cancer Genetics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) Committee on Gynecologic Practice Bulletins. In addition, she takes pride in having mentored many clinical fellows and trainees and has been awarded an MD Anderson Outstanding Educator Award.
She has consistently been featured as one of America’s Top Doctors.