Exclusive Interview with Prof. Akshay Sood
On August 29, 2025, Journal of Cancer Metastasis and Treatment (JCMT) had the honor of interviewing Associate Editor Prof. Akshay Sood, a leading clinician-scientist in bladder and prostate cancer research. His work spans translational research, biomarker discovery, and surgical innovation. His team is pioneering the use of conditional reprogramming (CR) cell technology to generate patient-derived prostate cancer models that integrate organoids and patient-derived xenograft (PDX) systems - offering powerful tools to study tumor biology, therapy response, and racial health disparities.
In this interview, Prof. Sood generously shared his personal journey into urologic oncology, highlighted practice-changing discoveries from his recent work, and discussed how emerging technologies - from robotic surgery and advanced imaging to artificial intelligence (AI)-driven risk stratification - are transforming urologic cancer care and improving patient outcomes.
Watch the following video for expert insights from Prof. Akshay Sood:
Interview Questions:
Q1: What initially drew you to urology? Was there a pivotal patient, mentor, or clinical challenge that shaped your path toward urologic oncology and outcomes research?
Q2: Among your recent publications or clinical practice, which finding do you think has the greatest potential to change clinical practice in urology?
Q3: Your team has applied conditional reprogramming (CR) cell technology to rapidly generate patient-derived prostate cancer models, integrating organoids and PDX systems to study tumor biology and health disparities. Which breakthrough from this approach excites you the most? How do you envision leveraging these models for therapy screening, outcome prediction, or addressing racial health inequities in the future?
Q4: How are emerging technologies - such as robotic and single-port surgery, advanced imaging, biomarkers/liquid biopsy, and AI/machine learning (ML) for risk stratification - changing your practice today? Could you share one or two concrete examples or ongoing trials from your group?
About the Interviewee:
Prof. Akshay Sood, Department of Urology, The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbus, OH, USA.
Prof. Sood's research focuses on developing novel therapies and diagnostic methods for prostate and urothelial cancers through biomarker-driven, investigator-initiated clinical trials. He received his medical degree from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, India, and has made significant contributions to clinical practice.
Editor: Frida Zhai
Language Editor: Catherine Yang
Production Editor: Ting Xu
Respectfully Submitted by the Editorial Office of Journal of Cancer Metastasis and Treatment
