Prof. Sezer Saglam
6
reviews
18/07/2025
11/07/2025
25/03/2020
08/04/2014
24/03/2014
25/08/2011
Professor Sezer Saglam is one of Turkey’s leading medical oncologists, with more than 25 years of clinical experience in chemotherapy and drug treatment of cancer. He works at the Oncology Center of the Florence Nightingale Hospitals Group in Gayrettepe (Istanbul) — a comprehensive oncology clinic with its own molecular oncology laboratory, PET-MRI equipment and gamma knife, where precision (personalized) medicine technologies and the selection of targeted therapy based on the genetic profiling of the tumor are applied.
He is one of Turkey’s leading specialists in the medical oncology of the gastrointestinal tract. He is the author of the “Istanbul R-01 Study” — an original prospective randomized trial on the optimal timing of surgery after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for rectal cancer, presented at the annual conference of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in 2009. In 2024 he was awarded the International Best Researcher Award for his scientific work on patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer) after liver transplantation.
Why patients choose Professor Saglam:
- A recognized specialist in gastrointestinal tumors — cancer of the stomach, rectum and colon, pancreas, esophagus and liver.
- More than 25 years of clinical practice at one of Turkey’s leading private oncology clinics.
- Author of his own treatment technique for metastases in the membranes of the brain and spinal cord — administration of chemotherapy drugs via a lumbar intrathecal port.
- Recipient of the 2024 International Best Researcher Award for his work on liver cancer.
- Author of more than 30 scientific publications in leading international and national medical journals on oncology.
- A regular speaker at the largest international oncology congresses in the USA and Europe.
- A member of leading professional societies — American (ASCO), European (ESMO), the European Neuroendocrine Tumor Society (ENETS) and the Turkish Society of Medical Oncology (TTOD).
- He sees patients in Turkish and English.
Professor Sezer Saglam sees patients in person at the Florence Nightingale Gayrettepe Hospital, and if necessary an online consultation is possible. In their reviews, patients note his calm manner of communication, attentiveness, and his willingness to provide detailed information about the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment approach.
At the Oncology Center, patients have access not only to drug therapy but also to the full range of supportive oncological care: nutritional support, pain management, fertility preservation programs before the start of chemotherapy, and psychological support. If necessary, a case can be reviewed jointly with foreign partner oncology centers.
The Oncology Center of the Florence Nightingale Group in Gayrettepe itself is certified by the international medical quality accreditation JCI (Joint Commission International) and by an ISO certificate. The clinic is equipped with PET-MRI technology for oncological diagnostics. The center includes its own molecular oncology laboratory, where all the necessary genetic tests on tumor tissue are performed to select targeted therapy, as well as a Center for the Diagnosis of Genetic Diseases. The Florence Nightingale Group has been providing oncological care since 1997.
Achievements and Awards
About Dr. Sezer Saglam
- Gastrointestinal oncology (main focus): stomach cancer, rectal and colon cancer, pancreatic cancer, esophageal cancer, liver cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma, peritoneal tumors and peritoneal carcinomatosis.
- Neuroendocrine tumors.
- Breast cancer and gynecologic oncology, including ovarian cancer.
- Soft tissue and bone sarcomas, including osteosarcoma and Ewing’s sarcoma.
- Internal medicine (therapy) — base specialty.
- 1985–1991 — Ege University, Faculty of Medicine, Izmir, Turkey — higher medical education, doctor’s diploma.
- November 1991 – November 1996 — Istanbul University, Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine — residency in internal medicine, qualified as an internal medicine physician.
- May 1996 – January 1997 — Istanbul University, Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine — certified course in hemodialysis.
- December 2001 – December 2004 — Istanbul University, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine — subspecialty training in medical oncology.
- January 2005 – October 2009 — Istanbul University, Institute of Oncology, Department of Medical Oncology — subspecialty training in gastrointestinal oncology.
- April 22, 2016 — awarded the academic title of “Professor” at Istanbul Bilim University (now Bilim University).
- April 1997 – October 1998 — physician, Bayraktar Dialysis Center, Güngören district, Istanbul.
- Since February 1999 — affiliated with the Oncology Center of the Florence Nightingale Gayrettepe Hospital, Istanbul.
- 2001–2009 — concurrently completed subspecialty training at the Institute of Oncology of Istanbul University.
- From 2009 to the present — medical oncologist at the Oncology Center of the Florence Nightingale Gayrettepe Hospital. Since 2016 — in the position of professor.
Teaching activity
- Since 2016 — professor at the Faculty of Medicine of Demiroğlu Bilim University (until 2019 it was named Istanbul Bilim University, Istanbul, Turkey). He lectures and conducts practical classes in medical oncology for students, resident physicians and specialists undergoing subspecialty training in medical oncology.
Professor Saglam’s bibliography includes more than 30 scientific works — articles in international and national peer-reviewed journals, reviews and reports presented at international congresses.
Main areas of scientific research:
- Drug treatment of gastrointestinal tumors (cancer of the stomach, rectum and colon, pancreas, esophagus)
- Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and optimization of multidisciplinary treatment for rectal cancer
- Targeted therapy and the use of monoclonal antibodies in oncology
- Molecular prognostic markers in malignant tumors (including hepatocellular carcinoma and breast cancer)
- Neuroendocrine tumors
- Intraperitoneal chemotherapy for ovarian cancer
- Drug treatment of soft tissue and bone sarcomas
- Supportive and accompanying therapy in oncology
- Radiological and magnetic resonance diagnostics of oncological diseases (joint work with radiologists)
Selected publications recognized with an international award:
- “The Prognostic Role of VEGFR-2 Gene Amplification in Relation to Serum AFP Levels Among Liver-Transplanted Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma.” The work was awarded the International Best Researcher Award at the International Congress for Research Excellence (Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India, January 26, 2024). The award was presented by Asia Research Awards together with the United Medical Council, Times of Research, Z24 News and the World Research Council.
Medical journals in which the works were published:
Professor Saglam’s works have been published in more than 15 peer-reviewed medical journals. Among the most authoritative publications in which his research has appeared:
- Journal of Clinical Oncology — the official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
- Gynecologic Oncology — an international journal of gynecologic oncology.
- Clinical and Translational Oncology — an international oncology journal.
- Investigational New Drugs — an international journal dedicated to clinical research on new antitumor drugs (Springer Nature).
- Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology — the journal of the Turkish Society of Radiology.
- Türk Onkoloji Dergisi (Turkish Journal of Oncology) — a national specialized oncology publication in Turkey.
Participation in international and national conferences:
- Annual conferences of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (USA) — 2004, 2005, 2009.
- Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposiums of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (USA) — 2006, 2007, 2008.
- World Congress of Colon and Rectal Surgeons (USA, 2006)
- Congress on Medical Oncology (Antalya, 2006)
- Surgical Congress of Turkey (Antalya, 2006)
- National Oncology Congresses of Turkey (Antalya, 2003, 2007, 2009)
- TTOD — Turkish Society of Medical Oncology
- ESMO — European Society for Medical Oncology
- ASCO — American Society of Clinical Oncology
- ENETS — European Neuroendocrine Tumor Society
The Oncology Center of the Florence Nightingale Hospitals Group in Gayrettepe is a comprehensive oncology institution operating within one of Turkey’s oldest private medical groups (the Florence Nightingale Group was founded in 1989). The group’s oncology division has been developing since 1997. The Florence Nightingale Gayrettepe Hospital itself has 87 inpatient beds, 10 adult intensive care beds, 5 neonatal intensive care beds, 15 beds in the newborn unit and 6 operating rooms. The center is certified by the international medical quality accreditation JCI (Joint Commission International) and by an ISO certificate.
The center includes departments of medical oncology, radiation oncology, nuclear medicine, endoscopy and bronchoscopy, radiology, as well as its own molecular oncology laboratory, in which modern genetic tests on tumor tissue are performed to select targeted therapy. Precision (personalized) medicine technologies are applied: gamma knife, PET-MRI for oncological diagnostics, intensity-modulated radiation therapy. Patients have access to the full range of supportive oncological care — nutritional support, pain management, fertility preservation programs before the start of chemotherapy, and psychological support. If necessary, complex cases can be reviewed jointly with foreign partner oncology centers.
