Research Summary

Dr. Sima Porten is a specialist in cancers of the genital and urinary organs. She is a member of the urologic oncology team at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. Her clinical interests include the diagnosis and treatment of genitourinary cancer, particularly bladder cancer, upper tract urothelial cancer, kidney cancer and high-risk prostate cancer.

Porten's research focuses mainly on the diagnosis and management of urothelial carcinoma, a cancer involving parts of the kidney, bladder and ureter (the tube connecting each kidney to the bladder). In studying the biologic or genetic basis of urothelial carcinoma, she hopes to develop new tests and treatments to bring personalized medicine to patients with bladder cancer.

Porten received her undergraduate, medical and master of public health degrees from Northwestern University. During medical school, she was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society and also completed a fellowship through the Howard Hughes Medical Institute–National Institutes of Health Research Scholars Program. She then completed her urology residency training at UCSF, where she received the Julius R. Krevans Award for Clinical Excellence. During her training in urologic oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, she was awarded a John Quale Travel Fellowship for her research in bladder cancer.

Porten is an active member of the American Urological Association, American Society of Clinical Oncology, Society of Women in Urology and Society of Urologic Oncology.

Education

  • Northwestern University, College of Arts and Sciences, B.A., 2001, Classics
  • Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, M.D., 2006, Medicine
  • Northwestern University, School of Public Health, M.P.H., 2006, Public Health
  • University of California, San Francisco, Intern, 2007, General Surgery
  • University of California, San Francisco, Resident, 2008, General Surgery
  • University of California, San Francisco, Resident, 2011, Urology
  • University of California, San Francisco, Chief Resident, 2012, Urology
  • U.T. MD Anderson Cancer Center, Fellow, 2014, Urol. Oncology

Honors & Awards

  • 2003
    Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Scholar, National Institute of Health
  • 2005
    Julius Conn Award for Outstanding Performance in the Surgery Clerkship
  • 2005
    George Dennis Award (Phi Rho Sigma) for Achievement in Clinical Years
  • 2006
    Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society, Gamma Chapter
  • 2007
    Julius R. Krevans Award for Clinical Excellence, San Francisco General Hospital
  • 2012
    The John Quale Travel Fellowship Award, Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network
  • 2015
    The Joseph McCarthy Essay Contest Award, American Urological Association, Western Section
  • 2016
    William R. Smart Distinguished Teaching Award, UCSF Department of Urology
  • 2017
    Best Reviewer Award, Journal of Urology
  • 2017
    Faculty Learning and Development Fund Award Recipient, UCSF, School of Medicine
  • 2018
    New Investigator Scholarship-Leadership Award, ALLIANCE Foundation
  • 2019
    Muriel Steele Society Honor- Influential and Inspiring Women in Surgery, Murielle Steel Society UCSF

Selected Publications

  1. Kwek SS, Yang H, Li T, Ilano A, Chow ED, Zhang L, Chang H, Luong D, Lea A, Clark M, Starzinski A, Shi Y, McCarthy E, Porten S, Meng MV, Ye CJ, Fong L, Oh DY. Identification and regulation of circulating tumor TCR-matched cytotoxic CD4+ lymphocytes by KLRG1 in bladder cancer. JCI Insight. 2025 Apr 29.  View on PubMed
  2. Zhu X, Chan E, Turski ML, Mendez CE, Hsu SC, Kumar V, Shipp C, Jindal T, Chang K, Onodera C, Devine WP, Grenert JP, Stohr BA, Ding CC, Stachler MD, Quigley DA, Feng FY, Chu CE, Porten SP, Chou J, Friedlander TW, Koshkin VS. HER2 overexpression in urothelial carcinoma with GATA3 and PPARG copy number gains. Oncologist. 2024 Aug 05; 29(8):e1094-e1097.  View on PubMed
  3. Satyal U, Valentine H, Liu D, Slifker M, Lallas CD, Trabulsi EJ, Bukavina L, Szeto L, Hoffman-Censits JH, Mouw KW, Faltas BM, Grivas P, Ibragimova I, Porten SP, Van Allen EM, Geynisman DM, Parker DC, O'Neill JP, Drevik J, Christianson SS, Ginzburg S, Correa AF, Uzzo RG, Ross EA, Zibelman MR, Ghatalia P, Plimack ER, Kutikov A, Abbosh PH. Urine Biopsy as Dynamic Biomarker to Enhance Clinical Staging of Bladder Cancer in Radical Cystectomy Candidates. JCO Precis Oncol. 2024 Jun; 8:e2300362.  View on PubMed
  4. Ceasar RC, Ladi-Seyedian SS, Escobar D, Han J, Koh K, Porten S, Chu C, Gould EE, Bhanvadia S. "I think my vagina is still there?": Women's perspectives on sexual function and dysfunction following radical cystectomy for bladder cancer, a qualitative study. J Sex Med. 2024 Apr 30; 21(5):464-470.  View on PubMed
  5. Briggs LG, Labban M, Ye J, Herzog P, Jones AN, Nguyen DD, Wallis CJD, Wolter C, Porten S, Trinh QD. Predicting Peak Productivity in Urologic Medicare Practice via Work-Relative Value Units. Urology. 2024 Sep; 191:1-8.  View on PubMed
  6. Washington SL, Lonergan PE, Odisho AY, Meng MV, Porten SP. Association of household net worth with healthcare costs after radical cystectomy using real-world data. Cancer Med. 2024 Apr; 13(7):e7116.  View on PubMed
  7. Porten SP, Wang EY, Vohra P, Carroll PR, Jahanfard S, Kim NW. Evaluation of URO17® to improve non-invasive detection of bladder cancer. Urol Oncol. 2024 Jun; 42(6):176.e21-176.e28.  View on PubMed
  8. Ladi-Seyedian SS, Ghoreifi A, Konety B, Pohar K, Holzbeierlein JM, Taylor J, Kates M, Willard B, Taylor JM, Liao JC, Kaimakliotis HZ, Porten SP, Steinberg GD, Tyson MD, Lotan Y, Daneshmand S. Racial Differences in the Detection Rate of Bladder Cancer Using Blue Light Cystoscopy: Insights from a Multicenter Registry. Cancers (Basel). 2024 Mar 24; 16(7).  View on PubMed
  9. Koshkin VS, Kumar V, Kline B, Escobar D, Aslam M, Cooperberg MR, Aggarwal RR, de Kouchkovsky I, Chou J, Meng MV, Friedlander T, Porten S, Hope TA. Initial Experience with 68Ga-FAP-2286 PET Imaging in Patients with Urothelial Cancer. J Nucl Med. 2024 Feb 01; 65(2):199-205.  View on PubMed
  10. Lotan Y, Agarwal P, Black P, Dickstein R, Kamat AM, Lee B, Narayan VM, Porten S, Psutka SP, Smith AK, Svatek RS, Williams SB, Woldu S. Standardization of the evaluation and surveillance of patients with BCG unresponsive high grade non-muscle invasive bladder cancer clinical trials. Urol Oncol. 2024 Aug; 42(8):223-228.  View on PubMed
  11. Lotan Y, Barocas DA, Chang SS, Daneshmand S, Konety B, Meeks JJ, Porten S, Raman JD, Rosser CJ, Scarpato KR, Sexton WJ, Sfakianos JP, Shore ND, Svatek RS. Commentary on Novitas LCD. Bladder Cancer. 2023; 9(4):305-312.  View on PubMed
  12. Wang EY, Armas-Phan M, Meng MV, Loeb S, Kenfield SA, Porten SP. Wake-Up Call to Address Sleep Health in Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer: Underappreciated Contributor to Poor Quality of Life. Bladder Cancer. 2023; 9(4):323-326.  View on PubMed
  13. Gore JL, Follmer K, Reynolds J, Nash M, Anderson CB, Catto JWF, Chamie K, Daneshmand S, Dickstein R, Garg T, Gilbert SM, Guzzo TJ, Kamat AM, Kates MR, Lane BR, Lotan Y, Mansour AM, Master VA, Montgomery JS, Morris DS, Nepple KG, O'Neil BB, Patel S, Pohar K, Porten SP, Riggs SB, Sankin A, Scarpato KR, Shore ND, Steinberg GD, Strope SA, Taylor JM, Comstock BA, Kessler LG, Wolff EM, Smith AB. Interruptions in bladder cancer care during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Urol Oncol. 2024 04; 42(4):116.e17-116.e21.  View on PubMed
  14. Gore JL, Wolff EM, Comstock BA, Follmer KM, Nash MG, Basu A, Chisolm S, MacLean DB, Lee JR, Lotan Y, Porten SP, Steinberg GD, Chang SS, Gilbert SM, Kessler LG, Smith AB, CISTO Collaborative. Protocol of the Comparison of Intravesical Therapy and Surgery as Treatment Options (CISTO) study: a pragmatic, prospective multicenter observational cohort study of recurrent high-grade non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. BMC Cancer. 2023 Nov 18; 23(1):1127.  View on PubMed
  15. Chang E, Hahn NM, Lerner SP, Fallah J, Agrawal S, Kamat AM, Bhatnagar V, Svatek RS, Jaigirdar AA, Bross P, Shore N, Kates M, Sachse K, Brewer JR, O'Donnell MA, Steinberg GD, Viviano CJ, Bloomquist E, Ribal MJ, Galsky MD, Oliver R, Black PC, Al-Ahmadie H, Brothers K, Pohar K, Dinney CP, Feng Z, Downs TM, Porten SP, Smith AB, Bangs R, Psutka SP, Agarwal N, Amiri-Kordestani L, Suzman DL, Pazdur R, Kluetz PG, Weinstock C. Advancing Clinical Trial Design for Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer. Bladder Cancer. 2023; 9(3):271-286.  View on PubMed
  16. Black PC, Tangen CM, Singh P, McConkey DJ, Lucia MS, Lowrance WT, Koshkin VS, Stratton KL, Bivalacqua TJ, Kassouf W, Porten SP, Bangs R, Plets M, Thompson IM, Lerner SP. Phase 2 Trial of Atezolizumab in Bacillus Calmette-Guérin-unresponsive High-risk Non-muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer: SWOG S1605. Eur Urol. 2023 12; 84(6):536-544.  View on PubMed
  17. Kates M, Chu X, Hahn N, Pietzak E, Smith A, Shevrin DH, Crispen P, Williams SB, Daneshmand S, Packiam VT, Porten S, Westerman ME, Wagner LI, Carducci M. Background and Update for ECOG-ACRIN EA8212: A Randomized Phase 3 Trial of Intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) Versus Intravesical Docetaxel and Gemcitabine Treatment in BCG-naïve High-grade Non-muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer (BRIDGE). Eur Urol Focus. 2023 07; 9(4):561-563.  View on PubMed
  18. Chappidi MR, Escobar D, Meng MV, Washington SL, Porten SP. Readmissions trends following radical cystectomy for bladder cancer unchanged in the era of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols. Urol Oncol. 2023 08; 41(8):355.e19-355.e28.  View on PubMed
  19. Jindal T, Zhang L, Deshmukh P, Reyes K, Chan E, Kumar V, Zhu X, Maldonado E, Feng S, Johnson M, Angelidakis A, Kwon D, Desai A, Borno HT, Bose R, Wong A, Hong J, Carroll P, Meng M, Porten S, Aggarwal R, Small EJ, Fong L, Chou J, Friedlander T, de Kouchkovsky I, Koshkin VS. Impact of Squamous Histology on Clinical Outcomes and Molecular Profiling in Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma Patients Treated With Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors or Enfortumab Vedotin. Clin Genitourin Cancer. 2023 10; 21(5):e394-e404.  View on PubMed
  20. Jindal T, Zhu X, Bose R, Kumar V, Maldonado E, Deshmukh P, Shipp C, Feng S, Johnson MS, Angelidakis A, Kwon D, Borno HT, de Kouchkovsky I, Desai A, Aggarwal R, Fong L, Small EJ, Wong A, Porten S, Chou J, Friedlander T, Koshkin VS. Somatic alterations of TP53 and MDM2 associated with response to enfortumab vedotin in patients with advanced urothelial cancer. Front Oncol. 2023; 13:1161089.  View on PubMed

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