"Fred Hutch Cancer Center" "Cures Start Here"

Daniel W. Lin, MD

Provider

Daniel W. Lin, MD

Physician, Fred Hutch
Professor, Cancer Prevention Program, Fred Hutch
Chief of Urologic Oncology, UW Medicine
Co-Chair, Surgical Oncology, Department of Urology, UW Medicine
Professor, Department of Urology, University of Washington School of Medicine
Pritt Family Endowed Chair in Prostate Cancer Research, UW Medicine

Specialty:

Surgery

Urology

Fred Hutch at UW Medical Center - Montlake

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“Educating a patient on options for their cancer, what to expect and what they may experience are all important components of providing care. The origin of the word “doctor” means “teacher,” and I embrace this part.”

— Dr. Lin

What brought you to oncology?

I come from a family of educators and physicians and went to college thinking I could do anything. I quickly realized biology and the study of cancer was my calling: My father is an academic pathologist, and I grew up hearing about tumors and sharing information about them for school reports. Teaching residents and medical students is very fulfilling, but educating patients is the most gratifying part of oncology to me.

What are you excited about from a research perspective?

I’m interested in understanding the biomarkers that indicate the aggressiveness of a person’s prostate cancer and learning how to prevent it. Is there something else we can measure to understand the behavior of their cancer? This can help us determine whether to recommend treatment or surveillance.

For prevention, what conditions run in a patient’s genes? Can we help modulate any predisposition they may have by improving their diet and exercise? We know we are doing something to ourselves: Men in Asia don’t really get much prostate cancer, but when they immigrate to the West, they do. Many studies recognize that Japanese men are now getting more cancers similar to Caucasians. We are learning more about dietary risks, such as high-fat diets, that may play a role.

We have done experiments with diet, specifically high-fat versus low-fat diets, over six weeks and biopsied prostates to see if they can see a difference. The genes had favorable response to the diet. The question then moved to what to do with these patients and studies moved to specific foods and down to the enzyme level, we now have a study with a broccoli enzyme in pill-form that we are studying in men.

Provider Background

Area of Clinical Practice
Genitourinary cancers, kidney cancer

I am a board certified urologist who specializes genitourinary oncologic surgery. I see patients at the Urology Clinic at UW Medical Center – Montlake.

My clinical and research interests include genitourinary oncology, early detection and prevention and basic research.

Diseases Treated

Penile Cancer

Prostate Cancer

Testicular Cancer

Languages

English

Education, Experience and Certifications

Undergraduate Degree
Stanford University

Medical Degree
Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Residency
University of Washington, Dept. of Urology

Fellowship
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

Board Certification
Urology, 2003, 2013, American Board of Urology

Other
Internship, University of Washington, Dept. of Surgery

Awards

Seattle Met's 2023 Top Doctors Award
Dr. Lin has received this peer-nominated award for exceptional patient care for multiple years.

Seattle Magazine's 2021 Top Doctors Award
Dr. Lin has been recognized as a Top Doctor in this peer-nominated award multiple years in a row.

Stories

All news

BRCA1/2: Why men should be screened for the “breast cancer gene”

BRCA1/2: Why men should be screened for the “breast cancer gene” New research shows that men can carry mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes that increase their risk of several cancers, but new national guidelines are helping to educate patients July 25, 2024

ASCO 2023 highlights: Fine-tuning cancer care

ASCO 2023 highlights: Fine-tuning cancer care Annual oncology meeting emphasizes less-toxic treatments, more precision oncology and new ways to reduce collateral damage June 9, 2023

Black men with early-stage prostate cancer can do active surveillance

Black men with early-stage prostate cancer can do active surveillance New study using Canary PASS data shows African American men with low-risk disease can delay radical treatment just like white men November 27, 2019

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Many of our Fred Hutch physicians conduct ongoing research to improve standards of patient care. Their work is evaluated by other physicians and selected for publication to the United States National Library of Medicine, the largest medical library in the world. See scientific papers this Fred Hutch physician has written.

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