Dr. Seth Felder is a colon and rectal surgical oncologist in the Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology at Moffitt Cancer Center.  He is an Assistant Professor of Surgery and Assistant Professor of Oncologic Sciences at the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine.  Following his colon and rectal surgery training at the University of Minnesota with highly esteemed international leaders in the field, he pursued additional training at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Advanced Colorectal Surgical Oncology.  While there, Dr. Felder gained surgical expertise in managing complex colorectal cancers, training in the newest minimally invasive Robotic surgical techniques for the treatment of colon, rectal and anal cancers.  He also gained further experience in transanal endoscopic microsurgery, peritoneal tumor debulking, and exenterative resections for recurrent disease in the pelvis, with incorporation of intraoperative radiation therapy. Dr. Felder utilizes minimally invasive Robotic techniques, when possible, that allows him to provide patients with optimal surgical outcomes and shortened recovery times. He focuses on important aspects of a patient’s quality of life, and whenever possible, he uses nerve-sparing surgical techniques that preserve anal, bladder, and sexual function.  Dr. Felder works closely with specialists in medical oncology, radiation oncology, radiology, pathology, and gastroenterology to discuss individual cases at Moffitt’s weekly conferences, with the goals of providing the most comprehensive care possible for each patient. Dr. Felder emphasizes personalized patient care with an emphasis on a team approach, closely working with multi-disciplinary specialists to treat each patient’s particular needs.   Dr. Felder’s main interest is in rectal preservation treatment protocols for rectal cancer, or the so-called “watch-and-wait strategy.”  In this non-operative management strategy, some patients may be treated with neoadjuvant therapy and throughout the course of treatment intermittently examined with a flexible sigmoidoscopy, digital rectal exam, and rectal MRI to assess the degree of tumor response.  Once neoadjuvant treatment is completed, a decision on the degree of tumor response, which can be complete in up to 40%, is made regarding whether close observation without surgery is appropriate. A portion of patients with rectal cancer can potentially forego or delay a rectal resection without an apparent negative effect on cancer outcomes, and be spared the side-effects of a major rectal surgery. Dr. Felder has studied the reproducibility of clinical tools in assessing rectal cancer response to neoadjuvant therapy.  More specifically, he has contributed to the investigation of the endoscopic treatment response of rectal cancer to neoadjuvant chemoradiation and chemotherapy.   He has also studied the endoscopic diagnostic concordance between expert surgeons actively managing these patients under a “watch-and-wait” strategy.  In addition, Dr. Felder collaborates with radiologists in correlating treatment response of MRI findings with the endoscopic response to determine whether a patient may be a candidate for a rectal preservation strategy. 

Education & Training

Board Certification:

• Surgery

Fellowship:

• University of Minnesota - Colon and Rectal Surgery
• Memorial Sloan Kettering - Advanced Colorectal Surgical Oncology

Residency:

• Cedars-Sinai Medical Center - General Surgery

Medical School:

• University of South Florida - MD