Medical Oncology
Prof. Dr. Özlem Er
Head of the Medical Oncology Department at Acıbadem University, with two decades of clinical practice at Acıbadem Maslak Hospital in İstanbul. MD Anderson–trained, with a research focus on breast and gastrointestinal cancers.
Biography
Prof. Dr. Özlem Er is a senior medical oncologist based at Acıbadem Maslak Hospital in İstanbul and Head of the Medical Oncology Department at Acıbadem University School of Medicine. She has been a certified medical oncology specialist since 2002 and has held the rank of full Professor since 2010.
Following her internal medicine training in Türkiye, she completed a clinical fellowship at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston in 2003–2004, focusing on the systemic treatment of solid tumors. That fellowship shaped her clinical approach and gave her direct exposure to the multidisciplinary tumor-board model that she has since brought to her own practice.
Her clinical work centers on breast and gastrointestinal cancers, and she is regularly invited to speak at national and international oncology meetings. She has authored and co-authored peer-reviewed publications on chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and supportive care in oncology, and continues to run her own translational-research group.
Education & Training
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2003–2004
Clinical Fellowship — MD Anderson Cancer Center
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston (USA). Medical oncology fellowship focused on systemic therapy for breast and gastrointestinal cancers.
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2002
Medical Oncology Board Certification
Certified as a Medical Oncology Specialist by the Turkish Ministry of Health following subspecialty fellowship training.
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Prior
Internal Medicine Residency
Internal medicine training in Türkiye, completed prior to subspecialty entry into medical oncology.
Career & Positions
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Current
Head of Medical Oncology · Acıbadem University
Leads the Medical Oncology Department at Acıbadem University's Faculty of Medicine and practices at Acıbadem Maslak Hospital's Comprehensive Cancer Center.
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2010
Full Professor of Medical Oncology
Promoted to full Professor, recognizing sustained clinical and academic contributions to Turkish medical oncology.
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Earlier
Erciyes University Faculty of Medicine
Academic and clinical career at Erciyes University in Kayseri, where she built her early practice in medical oncology before joining Acıbadem.
Areas of Expertise
Breast Cancer
Systemic treatment of all stages of breast cancer, including HER2-positive, hormone-receptor-positive, and triple-negative disease, plus modern neoadjuvant and adjuvant regimens.
Gastrointestinal Cancers
Chemotherapy and targeted therapy for colorectal, gastric, pancreatic, and other GI cancers, coordinated with surgical and radiation colleagues in multidisciplinary tumor boards.
Targeted & Personalized Therapy
Molecular profiling and biomarker-driven selection of targeted drugs, matching each patient to the therapy most likely to work for their specific tumor biology.
Immunotherapy
Checkpoint-inhibitor and combination immunotherapy protocols for eligible breast and GI cancer patients, including access to current international regimens.
Approach to Patient Care
Prof. Dr. Er practices in the tumor-board model she learned during her MD Anderson fellowship: every complex case is reviewed by a multidisciplinary panel of medical, surgical, and radiation oncologists, pathologists, and radiologists before a plan is finalized. Patients receive a written treatment plan with clear goals, expected side effects, and a schedule they can share with family at home.
For international patients, all consultations are conducted with a medical interpreter present, and pathology reports and imaging are reviewed against U.S. and European guidelines so that the plan lines up with what a top American center would recommend.
Memberships & Affiliations
- European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO)
- American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)
- Turkish Society of Medical Oncology
- Turkish Oncology Group (TOG)