GHSU Cancer Center Martha K. Terris, MD, FACS
Multidisciplinary Genitourinary / Prostate Team, Co-Director; Surgical Oncologist

Research interests: Investigating use of chemotherapy for prostate cancer patients at high risk of recurrence; diagnostic techniques, prognostic and risk factors for prostate and other urologic cancers; cyroblation and radiofrequency ablation for renal tumors

Prostate cancer in Georgia has a low incidence of diagnosis but a high mortality rate — one of the highest in the United States. Earlier, more systematic screening and more aggressive treatment of this slow growing cancer could hold the keys to reversing those statistics, says Dr. Martha K. Terris, a urologic oncologist.

When prostate cancer is likely to reoccur, patients now receive either radiation or hormone therapy or go into a period of watchful waiting. She is conducting a study to determine if earlier administration of chemotherapy can improve outcomes for patients after a prostatectomy. Post-surgery patients from GHSU and the Veterans Administration enrolled in the study are randomized to either a chemotherapy arm or watchful waiting.

• Grants
• Publications
• Affiliations

Address: BA 8417

College of Graduate Studies
Georgia Health Sciences University

1120 15th Street
Augusta, GA 30912 

Office: (706) 721-2519
Appointments: (706) 721-3042
E-mail: mterris@georgiahealth.edu

“Prostate cancer has historically responded very poorly to chemotherapy but that may be because we give it so late that nothing is going to work,” says Dr. Terris, who recommends annual screening for men age 50 and over but yet earlier screening for African-American men or those with a family history of prostate cancer or who are otherwise at risk.

According to a retrospective study of patients in private and academic medical centers and VA hospitals, she and other researchers identified some additional risk factors, obesity and exposure to Agent Orange, while the anti-cholesterol statin drugs, such as Lipitor, show protective benefits. An earlier study showed that a history of Agent Orange exposure increases the chance prostate cancer will reassert itself after surgery and likely prove deadly.

While Dr. Terris’ primary focus is on prostate and other urologic cancers, she also treats bladder cancer in both women and men. Doctors see many advanced bladder cancer patients in Augusta where smoking and exposure to textile dyes and petroleum products are common. If diagnosed, most patients will need chemotherapy, surgery, radiation or some combination of these treatments. “This is the disease where we have the most interdisciplinary interactions,” says, Dr. Terris, president of the Society of Urology Chairs and Program Directors, which represents more than 100 medical institutions in the United States and Canada.

Patients at risk can ask their primary doctors to screen their urine for blood. If any is detected microscopically, it can be investigated. In addition to bladder cancer, evaluation for blood in the urine can also reveal kidney cancer, another disease frequently treated by Dr. Terris. Today’s minimally invasive approaches, such as laparoscopic nephrectomy, save patients the discomfort of traditional nephrectomy. Partial nephrectomy, which involves only removing the part of the kidney with cancer, is an option for patients with small tumors and the possibility of decreased renal function. Newer minimally invasive technologies, such as cyroblation and radiofrequency ablation, offer treatment alternatives for patients unable to tolerate more aggressive surgery.

Dr. Terris completed her undergraduate work in 1982 and was awarded a BS from Mississippi State University. After earning her MD at the University of Mississippi in 1986, she received general surgery residency training at Duke University and completed urology residency and fellowship training at Stanford University. Dr. Terris served on the faculty at Stanford for seven years before coming to the Medical College of Georgia in 2002. She is a Georgia Cancer Coalition Distinguished Scientist.

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 Grants (selected)

• Chemotherapy After Prostatectomy (CAP) For High Risk Prostate Carcinoma: A Phase III Randomized Study (CSP #553). Awarded 2006 to end of accrual by Veterans Affairs Cooperative Studies Program.

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 Publications (selected)

member of editorial boards:

• Urology
• Open Journal of Urology
• Urology section editor, eMedicine.com, Internet journal

 

Reid-Nicholson MD, Motiwala N, Drury SC, Peiper SC, Terris MK, Waller JL, Ramalingam P. Chromosomal abnormalities in renal cell carcinoma variants detected by Urovysion fluorescence in situ hybridization on paraffin-embedded tissue. Ann Diagn Pathol. 2011 Feb;15(1):37-45.

Moreira DM, Antonelli JA, Presti JC Jr, Aronson WJ, Terris MK, Kane CJ, Amling CL, Freedland SJ. Association of Cigarette Smoking With Interval to Biochemical Recurrence After Radical Prostatectomy: Results from the SEARCH Database. Urology. 2010 Nov;76(5):1218-23.

Kim HS, Moreira DM, Smith MR, Presti JC Jr, Aronson WJ, Terris MK, Kane CJ, Amling CL, Freedland SJ.A natural history of weight change in men with prostate cancer on androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT): results from the Shared Equal Access Regional Cancer Hospital (SEARCH) database. BJU Int. 2010 Sep 22.

Hamilton RJ, Banez LL, Aronson WJ, Terris MK, Platz EA, Kane CJ, Presti JC Jr, Amling CL, Freedland SJ. Statin medication use and   the risk of biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy: results from the Shared Equal Access Regional Cancer Hospital (SEARCH) Database. Cancer. 2010 Jul 15;116(14):3389-98.

Bañez LL, Loftis RM, Freedland SJ, Presti JC Jr, Aronson WJ, Amling CL, Kane CJ, Terris MK. The influence of hepatic function on prostate cancer outcomes after radical prostatectomy. Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis. 2010 Jun;13(2):173-7.

Jayachandran J, Aronson WJ, Terris MK, Presti JC Jr, Amling CL, Kane CJ, Freedland SJ. Diabetes and outcomes after radical prostatectomy: are results affected by obesity and race? Results from the shared equal-access regional cancer hospital database. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2010 Jan;19(1):9-17.

Moreira DM, Presti JC Jr, Aronson WJ, Terris MK, Kane CJ, Amling CL, Freedland SJ. Definition and preoperative predictors of persistently elevated prostate-specific antigen after radical prostatectomy: results from the Shared Equal Access Regional Cancer Hospital (SEARCH) database. BJU Int. 2010 Jun;105(11):1541-7.

Schroeck FR, Kattan MW, Moul JW, Aronson WJ, Presti Jr JC, Terris MK, Kane CJ, Amling CL, Sun L, Freedland SJ.
Re-calibration and external validation of an existing nomogram to predict aggressive recurrences after radical prostatectomy. BJU Int. 2010 Jun;105(12):1654-9.

Moreira DM, Presti JC Jr, Aronson WJ, Terris MK, Kane CJ, Amling CL, Sun LL, Moul JW, Freedland SJ. The effect of race on the discriminatory accuracy of models to predict biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy: results from the Shared Equal Access Regional Cancer Hospital and Duke Prostate Center databases. Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis. 2010 Mar;13(1):87-93.

Lloyd JC, Bañez LL, Aronson WJ, Terris MK, Presti Jr JC, Amling CL, Kane CJ, Freedland SJ. Estimated blood loss as a predictor of PSA recurrence after radical prostatectomy: results from the SEARCH database. BJU Int. 2010 Feb;105(3):347-51.

Chang SL, Freedland SJ, Terris MK, Aronson WJ, Kane CJ, Amling CL, Presti JC Jr. Freedom From a Detectable Ultrasensitive Prostate-specific Antigen at Two Years After Radical Prostatectomy Predicts a Favorable Clinical Outcome: Analysis of the SEARCH Database. Urology. 2010 Feb;75(2):439-44.

Jayachandran J, Aronson WJ, Terris MK, Presti JC Jr, Amling CL, Kane CJ, Freedland SJ. Diabetes and outcomes after radical prostatectomy: are results affected by obesity and race?  Results from the shared equal-access regional cancer hospital database. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2010 Jan;19(1):9-17.

Moreira DM, Bañez LL, Presti Jr JC, Aronson WJ, Terris MK, Kane CJ, Amling CL, Freedland SJ. Predictors of secondary treatment following biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy: results from the Shared Equal Access Regional Cancer Hospital database. BJU Int. 2010 Jan;105(1):28-33.

Teeter AE, Presti Jr JC, Aronson WJ, Terris MK, Kane CJ, Amling CL, Freedland SJ. Does early prostate-specific antigen doubling time (ePSADT) after radical prostatectomy, calculated using PSA values from the first detectable until the first recurrence value, correlate with standard PSADT? A report from the Shared Equal Access Regional Cancer Hospital Database Group. BJU Int. 2009 Dec;104(11):1604-9.

Cheng M, Terris MK. Words of wisdom. Re: The number of cores positive for high grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia on initial biopsy is associated with prostate cancer on second biopsy. Eur Urol. 2009 Dec;56(6):1086.

Taneous M, Ramalingam P, Mode DG, Heiner JG, Terris MK, Lee JR. Primary mucinous adenocarcinoma in a defunctionalized urinary bladder: a case report. J Med Case Reports. 2009 Nov 30;3:9306

Moreira DM, Presti JC Jr, Aronson WJ, Terris MK, Kane CJ, Amling CL, Freedland SJ. Natural history of persistently elevated prostate specific antigen after radical prostatectomy: results from the SEARCH database. J Urol. 2009 Nov;182(5):2250-5.

Jayachandran J, Bañez LL, Aronson WJ, Terris MK, Presti JC Jr, Amling CL, Kane CJ, Freedland SJ. Obesity as a predictor of adverse outcome across black and white race: results from the Shared Equal Access Regional Cancer Hospital (SEARCH) Database. Cancer. 2009 Nov 15;115(22):5263-71.

Moreira DM, Jayachandran J, Presti Jr JC, Aronson WJ, Terris MK, Kane CJ, Amling CL, Stephenson AJ, Freedland SJ. Validation of a nomogram to predict disease progression following salvage radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy: results from the SEARCH database. BJU Int. 2009 Nov;104(10):1452-6.

Bañez LL, Sun L, Trock BJ, Han M, Partin AW, Aronson WJ, Terris MK, Presti JC Jr, Kane CJ, Amling CL, Moul JW, Freedland SJ. Body mass index and prostate specific antigen as predictors of adverse pathology and biochemical recurrence after prostatectomy. J Urol. 2009 Aug;182(2):491-6; discussion 496-8.

Terris MK. Strategies for repeat prostate biopsies. Curr Urol Rep. 2009 May;10(3):172-8.

Shah SR, Freedland SJ, Aronson WJ, Kane CJ, Presti JC Jr, Amling CL, Terris MK. Exposure to Agent Orange is a significant predictor of prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-based recurrence and a rapid PSA doubling time after radical prostatectomy. BJU Int. 2009 May;103(9):1168-72.

Bañez LL, Terris MK, Aronson WJ, Presti JC Jr, Kane CJ, Amling CL, Freedland SJ. Race and time from diagnosis to radical prostatectomy: does equal access mean equal timely access to the operating room?--Results from the SEARCH database. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2009 Apr;18(4):1208-12.

Lloyd JC, Bañez LL, Aronson WJ, Terris MK, Presti JC Jr, Amling CL, Kane CJ, Freedland SJ. Preoperative predictors of blood loss at the time of radical prostatectomy: results from the SEARCH database. Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis. 2009 Mar 24.

Schroeck FR, Aronson WJ, Presti JC Jr, Terris MK, Kane CJ, Amling CL, Freedland SJ. Do nomograms predict aggressive recurrence after radical prostatectomy more accurately than biochemical recurrence alone? BJU Int. 2009 Mar;103(5):603-8.

Terris MK. Editorial comment on: Is prostate-specific antigen velocity selective for clinically significant prostate cancer in screening? European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer (Rotterdam). Eur Urol. 2009 Feb;55(2):392; discussion 393.

Reid-Nicholson MD, Ramalingam P, Adeagbo B, Cheng N, Peiper SC, Terris MK. The use of Urovysion fluorescence in situ hybridization in the diagnosis and surveillance of non-urothelial carcinoma of the bladder. Mod Pathol. 2009 Jan;22(1):119-27.

Nelles JL, Freedland SJ, Presti JC Jr, Terris MK, Aronson WJ, Amling CL, Kane CJ. Impact of nerve sparing on surgical margins and biochemical recurrence: results from the SEARCH database. Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis. 2009;12(2):172-6.

Shah SR, Terris MK. Editorial comment on: Agent Orange exposure, Vietnam War veterans, and the risk of prostate cancer. Cancer. 2008 Nov 1;113(9):2382-4. No abstract available.

Teeter AE, Bañez LL, Presti JC Jr, Aronson WJ, Terris MK, Kane CJ, Amling CL, Freedland SJ. What are the factors associated with short prostate specific antigen doubling time after radical prostatectomy? A report from the SEARCH database group. J Urol. 2008 Nov;180(5):1980-4; discussion 1985.

 

Turley RS, Terris MK, Kane CJ, Aronson WJ, Presti JC Jr, Amling CL, Freedland SJ. The association between prostate size and Gleason score upgrading depends on the number of biopsy cores obtained: results from the Shared Equal Access Regional Cancer Hospital Database. BJU Int. 2008 Nov;102(9):1074-9.

Jayachandran J, Aronson WJ, Terris MK, Presti JC Jr, Amling CL, Kane CJ, Freedland SJ. Obesity and positive surgical margins by anatomic location after radical prostatectomy: results from the Shared Equal Access Regional Cancer Hospital database. BJU Int. 2008 Sep;102(8):964-8.

Freedland SJ, Sun L, Kane CJ, Presti JC Jr, Terris MK, Amling CL, Moul JW, Aronson WJ. Obesity and oncological outcome after radical prostatectomy: impact of prostate-specific antigen-based prostate cancer screening: results from the Shared Equal Access Regional Cancer Hospital and Duke Prostate Center databases. BJU Int. 2008 Sep;102(8):969-74.

Hamilton RJ, Aronson WJ, Terris MK, Kane CJ, Presti JC Jr, Amling CL, Freedland SJ. Limitations of prostate specific antigen doubling time following biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy: results from the SEARCH database. J Urol. 2008 May;179(5):1785-9; discussion 1789-90.

Freedland SJ, Hotaling JM, Fitzsimons NJ, Presti JC Jr, Kane CJ, Terris MK, Aronson WJ, Amling CL. PSA in the new millennium: a powerful predictor of prostate cancer prognosis and radical prostatectomy outcomes--results from the SEARCH database.Eur Urol. 2008 Apr;53(4):758-64; discussion 765-6.

Jayachandran J, Bañez LL, Levy DE, Aronson WJ, Terris MK, Presti JC Jr, Amling CL, Kane CJ, Freedland SJ. Risk stratification for biochemical recurrence in men with positive surgical margins or extracapsular disease after radical prostatectomy: results from the SEARCH database. J Urol. 2008 May;179(5):1791-6; discussion 1796. Erratum in: J Urol. 2008 Nov;180(5):2263.

Heiner JG, Terris MK. Effect of advanced age on the development of complications from intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guérin therapy. Urol Oncol. 2008 Mar-Apr;26(2):137-40.

Publications are updated quarterly. For a complete listing, see Dr. Terris' work on PubMed.

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 Affiliations

• Professor, Surgery, Physician Assistant and College of Graduate Studies, Georgia Health Sciences University
• Member, American College of Surgeons
• Member, American College of Surgeons, Georgia chapter
• Member, American Urological Association
• Member, Georgia Urological Association
• Member, Society of Urologic Oncology
• Member, Society for Basic Urologic Research
• Member, Society of Government Service Urologists
• Member, Society of University Urologists
• Member, Society of Urology Chairs and Program Directors
• Member, Urology Residency Review Committee
  
  
  

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