Education
M.B.B.S (Honours II Division I),
University of NSW1978 F.R.A.C.S. Part I 1980, F.R.A.C.S. (Urology) Part 2 1988
V.Q.E 1980
Awards
Professor Stricker was awarded Australia’s 2nd highest award, the Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) on the Australia Day 2015 Honours list for “Distinguished service to medicine and medical research, as a leading urologist, a robotic surgery pioneer, a teacher and mentor, and as an advocate for prostate cancer awareness”.
Selected Current Appointments
1988 – current Urologist, St. Vincent’s Private Hospital
2020 – current Emeritus Fellow, Garvan Institute of Medical Research
2010 – current Chairman, Dept. Urology, St Vincent’s Private Hospital and Clinic and HMO St Vincent’s Hospital
2008 – current Clinical Director, Prostate Cancer Research, The Kinghorn Cancer Centre
2003 – current Director, St. Vincent’s Prostate Cancer Research Centre
2022 – current Professor, Department of Surgery, University of New South Wales Australia 2010-current Clinical Associate Professor, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney 2010-current Conjoint Professor, School of Medicine, University of Western Sydney
About
Professor Phillip Stricker is an Urologist and one of the leading experts in the treatment of prostate cancer in Australia. He is Chairman of the Department of Urology at St Vincent’s Campus, the Director of the St Vincent’s Prostate Cancer Centre, Clinical Director of the Australian Prostate Cancer Research Centre – NSW and was an inaugural Director of the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia. He was the first person in Australia to specialise exclusively in the care of men with prostate cancer. In February 2006 he commenced the first robotic program in NSW at St Vincent’s Hospital. Since then he has performed over 2800 robotic prostate cancer cases, being the most in NSW and the second highest number in in Australasia. He continues to perform open surgery and currently has performed in excess of 4500 open prostate cancer surgery cases being the most in Australasia. In non-surgical treatments he was one of the first to use low dose rate and high dose rate brachytherapy in Australasia and has now performed over 1,000 high dose rate and over 1000 low dose rate brachytherapies. He was one of the first to use active surveillance with one of the largest cohorts in the world ( >1000 patients).
Professor Stricker also has a long clinical and research track record of treating Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy including all the medications, laser surgery (being the first to perform greenlight laser in Australia), Urolift treatment, Rezum and TURP.
His area of research currently focuses on the quality of life in patients after treatments , improving surgical techniques, new techniques in robotic prostate surgery and currently introducing single port robotic surgery. Introducing new treatments that are less invasive and with less side effects such as Nanoknife therapy and shortly to introduce a new emerging therapy transurethral ultrasound ablation (TULSA). Investigating multiparametric magnetic resonance imagining alone and with combidex as an aid to biopsy, as a diagnostic tool and to assess the extent and aggressiveness of prostate cancer and to guide therapies. The use of Prostate Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA) PET scans for the detection and evaluation of prostate cancer is a new research area of interest for Prof Stricker. In 2013, he was appointed the Clinical Director of the Australian Prostate Cancer Research Centre – NSW, which is funded by the Australian Federal Government. This Centre coordinates prostate cancer research across the St Vincent’s Campus, Garvan Institute of Medical Research/The Kinghorn Cancer Centre, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital/The Chris O’Brien Lifehouse and Royal North Shore Hospital. It is also in collaboration with researchers in Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia.
His international collaborative partnerships include the Memorial Sloan- Kettering Centre, New York, Cornell University, New York, Case Western Reserve University, Ohio, the Robotic Institute, Florida, Beth Israel Medical Center, New York and the University College Hospital, London. Together with the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, he has established a prostate cancer repository, which has collected clinical data and prostate cancer tissues samples for over 13,000 men one of the largest in the world. This has become a valuable resource for researchers who not only want to discover the molecular causes of prostate cancer but also the outcomes of diagnosis, treatment and prevention.
Translation – Current Selected Achievements
Active Surveillance
Greater than 1000 cases on active surveillance since 1992. The largest series in Australia. Structured program of follow-up with PSA, transperineal biopsies of the prostate and MRI scans.
Open and Robotic Radical Prostatectomy
Achieved international standard outcomes with <10% positive margins, up to 92% potency recovery and <2% long-term incontinence. These results have been presented and published in state, national and international meetings and journals.
Transperineal Biopsy
First described this technique in 1995, published and presented extensively on it’s accuracy, safety and technique, has performed over 7,000 cases,and recently wrote the chapter by invitation in Hinman’s Textbook of Urology
MRI & PET Scanning
One of the pioneers of MRI prostate cancer imaging and PSMA Pet Scanning and has extensively presented and published on it’s role in detection, targeted biopsy ( including MR/US Fusion techniques), staging and monitoring and planning therapy.
Focal Therapy
One of the pioneers of focal therapy using IRE (Nanoknife). He currently has extensive experience and has performed over 800 cases of Focal IRE since 2013 to date. Published data on the largest prospective focal Nanoknife therapy cohort in the world in European Oncology Urology.
Current Major Grants in the last 5 years
2019-2020 – St. Vincent’s Clinic Foundation Grant. PRIMARY Trial – Can combined multiparametric
MRI and PSMA PET imaging replace prostate biopsy in the primary diagnosis of prostate cancer?
Emmett L and Stricker P. $40,000
2019-2020 – St Vincent’s Curran Foundation Grant. PRIMARY Trial – A prospective evaluation of
prostate-specific membrane antigen positron emission tomography (PSMA PET) to reduce
unnecessary prostate biopsies in men at risk of prostate cancer. Emmett L and Stricker P. $100,000
2020 – 2021 – Angiodynamics (USA). IRE Immuno study – $120,000
2019-2021 – The Sydney Partnership for Health, Education, Research & Enterprise (SPHERE) –
Additional diagnostic value of PSMA to mpMRI in the diagnostic setting: Ability to reduce
unnecessary prostate biopsies in men being investigated for prostate cancer. PRIMARY Trial. Emmet
L and Stricker P. $150,000
2019-2021 – Cancer Institute of NSW Programme Grant. $4,000,000
2021-2022 – St. Vincent’s Clinic Foundation Grant. Prospective cross-sectional multi-centre study of
68Ga-PSMA PET/CT in addition to mpMRI in men undergoing 12-month confirmatory biopsy during
Active Surveillance for low- or intermediate-risk prostate cancer (PIAS Trial). Stricker P and
Thompson J. $25,000
2021-2022 –Ramaciotti Health Investment Grants. Prospective cross-sectional multi-centre study of
68Ga-PSMA PET/CT in addition to mpMRI in men undergoing 12-month confirmatory biopsy during
Active Surveillance for low- or intermediate-risk prostate cancer (PIAS Trial). Stricker P and
Thompson J. $200,000
2022 – 2022–Angiodynamics (USA). IRE Immuno study Extension – $100,000
2022 St. Vincent’s Curran Foundation (Endowment Grant). PIAS study – $50,000
2024 – Angiodynamics (USA). Multi-Centre resgistry – $30,000
2025 – Angiodynamics (USA). Multi-Centre resgistry – $60,000
Publications
Over 300 peer-reviewed publications
- Please click here for recent major publications
- Please click here for a complete list of publications
Top 5 Recent Invited Conference Presentations
1. USANZ 2017 – Focal therapy nanoknife and PSMA Imaging and MRI Imaging workshop
2. Robotic Symposium – Potency preservation in Robotics
3. PROSCA Portugal – Focal Nanoknife, Robotic RP
4. Tasmania ASM – Prostate Cancer Update – 8hours
5. MRI Fusion Workshop – Co Convenor
Other track record achievements in the past 5 years
- Supervision and mentoring of eight research fellows to Masters or PhD including The Rob Sutherland Fellow
- Production of patient oriented DVDs for prostate cancer care
- Invited speaker to twenty national and international conferences and meetings
- Member of The Expert Advisory Panel to develop books on :
1.Treatment of Localised Prostate Cancer –both editions (NHMRC approved )
2. Treatment of Advanced Prostate Cancer ( NHMRC Approved )
3. Clinical Practice guidelines for PSA Testing (PCFA & NHMRC approved ) - Supervisor of Robotic Surgical Training for Registrars, Fellows and Consultants
- Reviewer of Publications for multiple Journals including European Urology, Journal of Urology, Medical Journal of Australia.
- Prof Stricker provides four training classes per year on Facal Irreversible Electroporation (NanoKnife) to medical professionals via Getz Healthcare.
- Prof Stricker mentors UNSW high degree medical students