Patients with gastrointestinal (GI) cancers in the Bronx and surrounding areas have an expansive suite of treatment options thanks to the close-knit team and expertise in robot-assisted surgery at Montefiore Einstein's Comprehensive Cancer Center. The surgical team brings leading-edge surgical options directly to a community that has maintained a strong relationship with Montefiore Einstein.

"By integrating minimally invasive surgical techniques into our offerings, we have made major strides in treating gastric, pancreatic and liver cancers, including liver metastases that have traditionally been considered very difficult to treat," says Moran Slavin, MD, Surgical Oncologist at Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center and Assistant Professor of Surgery at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Minimally invasive surgical approaches, with robotic surgery being the most advanced form, provide excellent oncologic outcomes comparable to traditional open surgeries, according to data accumulated nationwide over the past decade. "Manipulating a robot, the surgeon controls every maneuver, with the robot enabling higher precision and better manipulation of tissue," says Dr. Slavin. "For areas where laparoscopy was established, the results are comparable, but robotic technology has opened a new frontier of procedures we previously only offered as open surgeries." 

John McAuliffe, MD, PhD, FACS, FSSO, an Oncologic and Endocrine Surgeon at Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center and Associate Professor of Surgery and Pathology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, notes that our comprehensive cancer center provides state-of-the-art therapies for patients. "We have invested in multiple technologies, including robotics, to meet the demands of the community we serve and are innovating with established and new treatment modalities. Empowered by these innovations, our multidisciplinary team is all the more equipped to provide curative-intent, tailored treatments, thereby strengthening our patient-physician relationships."

Investment in minimally invasive approaches has already generated tangible returns at Montefiore Einstein. Robotic approaches accounted for 15% of cases in November 2024, 46% in December 2024 and 70% by January 2025. The surgical oncology team now routinely performs robotic liver, biliary, pancreatic, stomach and adrenal gland procedures. 

Dr. Slavin highlights the importance of this expansion in the context of Montefiore's relationship with the Bronx community. "The relationship between Montefiore Einstein and the Bronx community is already strong," she says. "But to be able to further reinforce these ties in the cancer population by providing the latest technologies is integral to our long-term relationship. Montefiore Einstein advocates for these patients, and minimally invasive surgery is now the standard of care in many fields. It absolutely should be offered." 

Montefiore Einstein's multidisciplinary Tumor Board team includes experts in surgery, medical oncology, radiation oncology, radiology, medicine, radiology and nursing. Through weekly meetings, the team gathers together surgical oncologists, medical oncologists, radiation specialists and interventional radiologists to discuss patient cases, share different perspectives and design comprehensive treatment plans. Communication amongst services goes beyond these weekly meetings in several ways, says Dr. Slavin. "We sit in the clinic on the same days, ensuring a quick and seamless transition of care when patients transfer from one service to another," says Dr. Slavin.

"Our close-knit team is able to move forward with things that other systems struggle with," Dr. Slavin explains. "We can really make progress for patients in relatively short periods of time as forward-thinking providers strategize in real time about how to bring the latest technologies into the conversation when relevant-and quickly." 

Collaboration with area referring physicians remains a priority for the GI Surgical Oncology team. "We make a point to ensure that if a patient is receiving cancer treatment and they're close to home and happy with their providers, they can seamlessly return to the care of their providers. We are approachable and easy to contact through email or the call center.

The team is actively involved in clinical research initiatives and is currently collecting data on the Montefiore Einstein robotic surgery experience. "We are continuously evaluating the quality of care we are giving," Dr. Slavin says, "in hopes of looking back in a year or two and seeing the difference in the numbers that we are witnessing."