Memorial Sloan Kettering medical oncologist Robert Motzer

Robert J. Motzer, MD

Genitourinary Medical Oncologist

Areas of Expertise

Conditions I Treat

  • Kidney (renal cell) cancer and conditions

My Specialties

  • Immunotherapy
  • Clinical trials
Dr. Motzer's Office Information
Languages: English
Request an Appointment
Our Care Advisors can answer many of your questions. They will connect you with the best healthcare provider for your needs.

Get to Know Me

I am a medical oncologist who is dedicated to improving the lives of people with genitourinary cancer. My primary area of expertise is kidney cancer (renal cell carcinoma). In particular, I care for people who have cancer that has spread to other parts of the body or who are at high risk for cancer spreading.

This provider is part of a team that was ranked #1 in the nation for Urology Cancer Care this year by U.S. News & World Report.

For more than 30 years, I have provided high-quality and compassionate care for MSK patients with kidney cancer and other advanced genitourinary cancers. As Kidney Cancer Section Head, I lead a group of experts who are dedicated to researching and treating this disease.

I have led more than 80 clinical trials in people with kidney cancer and testicular cancer. These have included national and international multicenter clinical trials. My research has helped identify ten groundbreaking targeted drugs that are effective treatments for people with advanced kidney cancer.

On both a national and international level, I work to improve the quality and delivery of care for people with kidney cancer. I developed a risk-based system to help predict treatment outcomes for people taking medications for advanced kidney cancer. This system is used by doctors around the world to guide patient care. I also chair the Kidney Cancer Guidelines Panel for the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.

I have published more than 500 scientific articles, reviews, and chapters. I have given lectures throughout the world, from Japan and China, to Russia and Turkey, to Germany, Spain, and Brazil. I am a recipient of a Career Development Award from the National Institutes of Health, the Willet F. Whitmore Award for Clinical Excellence from Memorial Sloan Kettering, and the Eugene P. Schonfeld Award from the Kidney Cancer Association.

What I Do at MSK

I'm a genitourinary (GU) medical oncologist, which is a cancer doctor who specializes in genitourinary (jeh-nih-toh-YOOR-ih-nayr-ee) cancers. This includes bladder, kidney, penis, prostate, and testicular cancers.

  • Section Head, Kidney Cancer, Genitourinary Oncology Service
  • Jack and Dorothy Byrne Chair in Clinical Oncology
Areas of Expertise

Conditions I Treat

  • Kidney (renal cell) cancer and conditions

My Specialties

  • Immunotherapy
  • Clinical trials
Education & Honors

Education

  • MD, University of Michigan Medical School

Residencies

  • Internal Medicine - North Shore University Hospital/Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Fellowships

  • Medical Oncology/Hematology - Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center/Weill Cornell Medical College

Board Certifications

  • Internal Medicine
  • Medical Oncology

Awards and Honors

  • Castle Connolly: America’s Top Doctor (2025)
  • Castle Connolly: America’s Top Doctor (2024)
  • Top Doctors New York Metro Area, Castle Connolly (2023)
  • Castle Connolly: America's Top Doctors (2023)

Insurance Information

Understanding your insurance options is an important part of managing your cancer care. We have relationships with many common healthcare providers and plans.

Don't see your carrier or plan? We can help you understand your coverage.

If you don't have health insurance or are worried that your care may not be fully covered, our financial assistance programs may be able to help.

If you have questions about insurance, call us at 646-497-9176.

Make an Appointment

Women talking
New Patients
Scheduling an appointment is easy. Click or call 646-497-9068— we’re available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Make an Appointment
Current Patients
Request an appointment by calling your Care Team or messaging them in MSK MyChart.

Contact and Location

Office Phone
Location
New York, NY
Sidney Kimmel Center for Prostate and Urologic Cancers
353 East 68th Street New York NY 10065
Get Directions

Looking to see a doctor at a different location? See all MSK locations.

Colleagues

Doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering work as teams, with specialists from all different areas. This allows us to consider all your needs together, and to give you the best possible care.

See all Genitourinary Oncology Service doctors

Clinical Trials

Smiling doctors in the lab
Find a Clinical Trial for You

Memorial Sloan Kettering's doctors and scientists are constantly developing new treatments for cancer. MSK is typically running hundreds of clinical trials at a given time.

You may be able to participate in a clinical trial even if you are new to MSK. Search our online directory to find trial information and see more about who can participate.

Search clinical trials

Research and Publications

Publications on PubMed

Visit PubMed for a full listing of Dr. Motzer’s journal articles. Pubmed is an online index of research papers and other articles from the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.

See all on PubMed

Disclosures

Members of the MSK Community often work with pharmaceutical, device, biotechnology, and life sciences companies, and other organizations outside of MSK, to find safe and effective cancer treatments, to improve patient care, and to educate the health care community. These activities outside of MSK further our mission, provide productive collaborations, and promote the practical application of scientific discoveries.

MSK requires doctors, faculty members, and leaders to report (“disclose”) the relationships and financial interests they have with external entities. As a commitment to transparency with our community, we make that information available to the public. Not all disclosed interests and relationships present conflicts of interest. MSK reviews all disclosed interests and relationships to assess whether a conflict of interest exists and whether formal COI management is needed.

Robert J. Motzer discloses the following relationships and financial interests:

  • E-vate Ltd
    Professional Services and Activities
  • Merck & Co Inc.
    Professional Services and Activities
  • MJH Life Sciences
    Professional Services and Activities

If you’re a patient at MSK and would like more information about your doctor’s external relationships, please talk with your doctor.

The information published here is a complement to other publicly reported data and is for a specific annual disclosure period. There may be differences between information on this and other public sites as a result of different reporting periods and/or the various ways relationships and financial interests are categorized by organizations that publish such data.

This page and data include information for a specific MSK annual disclosure period (January 1, 2024 through disclosure submission in spring 2025). This data reflects interests that may or may not still exist. This data is updated annually.

Learn more about MSK’s COI policies here. For questions regarding MSK’s COI-related policies and procedures, email MSK’s Compliance Office at ecoi@mskcc.org.


View all disclosures

Related topics: