Urology community grieves loss of John Stein, MD

John P. Stein, MD, a professor at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine and an internationally known specialist in urologic cancers and bladder reconstruction, died April 11 in Naples, FL. He was 45.

Dr. Stein became ill while attending a meeting of the American Association of Genitourinary Surgeons in Naples and was taken to a local hospital. The cause of death awaits the completion of autopsy studies.

A research scientist and surgeon known for his bedside manner, Dr. Stein completed his residency at the USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and became a professor of urology and co-director of the center’s Genitourinary Cancers Program.

“Dr. Stein was a brilliant surgeon and dedicated leader in the Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center,” said Peter A. Jones, PhD, DSc, director of the USC/Norris Cancer Center. “He was one of the most compassionate and skilled physicians I have ever met.”

Early in his career, Dr. Stein and three colleagues published a landmark study that helped to identify which patients had more aggressive forms of bladder cancer. He also demonstrated the importance of thorough lymph node removal in the successful treatment of bladder cancer, and helped to develop a technique for bladder reconstruction.

Dr. Stein was a member of the American Association of Genitourinary Surgeons, served on the editorial board of four urologic journals, and received the Young Investigator Award by the Society of Urologic Oncology n 2003.

Dr. Stein is survived by his wife Randi, four children, his parents, and two brothers.