PITTSBURGH, PA, October 29, 2024 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Salman Fazal, MD, has been recognized as a 2024 Castle Connolly Top Doctor — the first year he has received the prestigious Top Doctor honor. Only about 7 percent of the nation's licensed physicians are selected annually as Castle Connolly Top Doctors in their regions for their specialties.

Dr. Fazal is a hematologist oncologist with a specific focus on hematological malignancies including leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma. Dr. Fazal is with the Allegheny Health Network (AHN) and works at West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

He has served as director of transplant and cellular therapies at AHN Cancer Institute since 2018.

Dr. Fazal is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine, with subspecialty certification in both hematology and medical oncology.

He diagnoses and treats a number of complex blood/bone-marrow cancers and other serious conditions in adults, including lymphocytic leukemia and myeloid leukemia (acute and chronic), myelodysplastic syndromes, myelofibrosis, and chronic myeloid leukemia.

Dr. Fazal commonly treats patients using stem-cell transplants and cellular therapies that leverage the immune system to treat blood cancers.

Advances in genomics, cellular therapies, immunotherapy, and targeted therapies have transformed treatment options, Dr. Fazal says.

The current state-of-the-art management of blood cancers involves a highly personalized and multidisciplinary approach, tailored to each patient's unique disease characteristics and overall health.

Immune-based treatments such as CAR T-cell therapy have been groundbreaking, particularly for aggressive lymphomas and leukemias. These treatments harness the patient's immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells.

For certain high-risk or relapsed blood cancers, allogeneic stem cell transplantation remains a potentially curative option, especially when other treatments have failed.

"The future of blood cancer treatment is promising, with ongoing research into new therapeutic targets and further refinement of immunotherapies," Dr. Fazal says. "Clinical trials remain crucial in continuing to push the boundaries of what's possible in treatment."

With recent advancements in treatment, attentive care remains essential to Dr. Fazal's approach.

"In an era of specialized treatments, nothing compares to the value of giving patients your full attention during their visit," he says.

Dr. Fazal earned his medical degree at Punjab University King Edward Medical College in Lahore, Pakistan. He completed three years of internal medicine training at Rosalind Franklin University/Chicago Medical School followed by an additional year at Griffin Health/Yale School of Medicine.

He then completed a three-year hematology-oncology residency at Allegheny General Hospital/Temple University School of Medicine, serving as chief fellow in his final year.

Dr. Fazal speaks English, Punjabi, and Urdu.

Top Doctors are nominated by peer physicians and selected by the physician-led Castle Connolly research team.

"It's an honor to be recognized by my peers, but the Top Doctor list doesn't fully reflect the collaborative nature of healthcare," Dr. Fazal says. "Providing comprehensive patient care requires a dedicated team of physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, pharmacists, medical assistants, and many others. I'm deeply grateful for the support of everyone I work with. I also want to thank my colleagues for this nomination — I'm truly appreciative and will continue to strive for even greater excellence."

About Castle Connolly
Castle Connolly publishes its Top Doctors list at castleconnolly.com and in a variety of print and online partner publications. Nominations are open to all board-certified MDs, DOs, and DPMs. The Castle Connolly team chooses honorees based on nominee criteria that includes their medical education, training, hospital appointments, and disciplinary histories.

Doctors do not and cannot pay to be selected as a Castle Connolly Top Doctor.

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