Pamela N. Munster

MD

Medical oncologist
Co-director, Center for BRCA Research

Dr. Pamela N. Munster is a medical oncologist who cares for patients with breast cancer. Her roles include director of the early-phase clinical trials program for cancer research; co-director of the UCSF Center for BRCA Research; and co-leader of UCSF's program in developmental therapeutics, which focuses on innovative research to find treatments for advanced cancer.

In her own research endeavors, Munster is interested in developing new targeted therapies for treatment-resistant cancer. She studies changes in gene expression and resistance to therapy. Her lab is involved in projects evaluating hormone therapies for breast cancer as well as therapies that engage the immune system to fight tumors. She has published in numerous scientific journals and lectured on topics in breast oncology, such as the management of metastatic breast cancer, breast cancer receptors, clinical trials and translational research (the process of applying study findings to patient care). She has a published memoir, “Twisting Fate: My Journey with BRCA – From Breast Cancer Doctor to Patient and Back.”

Munster earned her medical degree from the University of Bern in Switzerland. She completed a residency in internal medicine at Indiana University Health, followed by a fellowship in medical hematology and oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where she also served as faculty in the breast cancer program.

Prior to joining UCSF, Munster worked for six years in the Moffitt Cancer Center's division of breast oncology and experimental therapeutics program, serving as scientific director of breast research and co-chair of the phase 1 clinical trial program.
  • Education

    University of Bern, 1989

  • Residencies

    Indiana University School of Medicine, Internal Medicine, 1996

  • Fellowships

    Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Hematology-Oncology, 2000

  • Academic Title

    Professor

  • Languages

    French

    German

    Italian

Conditions I specialize in

Where I see patients (3)

    My reviews

    4.8

    Overall Experience
    93 Ratings
    About our process
    Sep 21, 2024
    This was an initial meeting with Dr Munster. I believe she and her team gave as much information as they could with what they had.
    Jun 05, 2024
    The experience was superior
    Apr 28, 2024
    Dr. Munster is so knowledgeable and thoughtful. I am so truly fortunate to have her ss my doctor. She is incredible and brilliant.
    Mar 21, 2024
    She's a terrific doctor, a real person, and a good soul. Her integration of the science, with the art of medicine is an Inspiration, as is her ongoing commitment to research and sharing information with patient both individually and at a community level. I feel lucky and grateful to be in her care!
    Dec 13, 2023
    Dr Munster is friendly, thorough, professional and upbeat. I also appreciate her candor .
    Dec 05, 2023
    While I had a bit of a wait Dr. Munster is worth waiting for. Sometimes she spends extra time with me and I imagine with others , but I understand. She is amazing and I am happy to be in her care.
    Nov 10, 2023
    Had a good experience. The fellow was also very informative.
    Oct 31, 2023
    Dr. Munster is a thoughtful and incredibly knowledgeable physician. It has been reassuring to know that I have someone who can help me navigate the complicated issues related to having a BRCA2 mutation with all the ongoing f/u that it requires.
    Oct 14, 2023
    Dr. Munster is excellent at involving the patient in the decision-making process and explaining the reasoning behind her recommendations.
    Sep 07, 2023
    A fabulous visit overall
    Sep 07, 2023
    Excellent doctor. Grateful to be her patient.
    Jul 05, 2023
    Both the fellow and Doctor were great. We learned a lot from the visit and will follow up with them.
    Jun 24, 2023
    We are working on how best to communicate given we are both sensitive to perceived criticism. However, I greatly appreciate that she spoke to me as an adult and keeps me actively involved in the treatment plan. We are working on complex issues. Dr. Munster and her team are very willing to dive in to come up with the best course of treatment and do not hand wave symptoms that have serious Impact on my life and health.
    May 13, 2023
    Excellent consultation.
    Apr 22, 2023
    I had a flare of a problem only marginally related to the issue I was there for, listened to my issue, and moved quickly to get it addressed. I had raised this issue with the relevant MDs in the previous weeks.
    Apr 06, 2023
    I love Dr. Munster. She is a superwoman. I went in with a concern about a potential divorce, disability paper work and concern about working after 20 months of treatment (5 months of chemo, 4 surgeries, radiation and a twice a day chemo pill). I was also concerned about some recent exhaustion from the Verzenio and whether teaching would be too much for me right now. I Had called ahead to discuss disability paper work and the person whom I talked to seemed very confused and then did not seem to pass the correct information on to Dr. Munster. I probably should have asked more questions, but felt like I was being a bit annoying, I would like understanding about my concerns surrounding going back to work full time, while raising kids alone, while in active treatment, while dealing with an extremely difficult situation at home. Dr. Munster is so thorough with the breast exams. She knows the anatomy so well. Whatever she says I trust 1000%. There is no one like her. She is the best at what she does. She knows everything and Is even better at PT than the awesome PTs. She did schedule an MRI and the slightest thought of recurrence keeps me up at night. The wait time for the MRI was 3 months. I called and emailed and I am grateful that Dr. Munster and her team helped me get it moved up. Now it's only a few weeks away. Still a bit far for my comfort levels. Hoping, praying and believing it will be fine. Thank you for expediting the wait tone.
    Apr 05, 2023
    My PET/CT was ordered without contrast. Who placed the order? I was dosed with radiation yet the scan yielded little value. I don't have time to wait another 3 months before I get another scan. Alternative was an MRI which I am trying to get scheduled now.
    Mar 15, 2023
    Dr Munster explained possible future plans for my health in a way that was easy to understand.
    Feb 17, 2023
    Excellent care. Excellent service
    Jan 25, 2023
    Amazing care and a bright, positive attitude and thoughtful approach.
    Jan 22, 2023
    Great experience very caring and hopefull

    Selected research

    See all research
    Decorative Caduceus

    Studying the Effect of Denosumab on Preventing Breast Cancer in Women With a BRCA1 Germline Mut...

    Time to breast cancer (invasive or DCIS) will be compared between the two treatment arms using a stratified Cox proportional hazards regression model.

    Recruiting

    Decorative Caduceus

    Pilot Study of Pancreatic Cancer Screening

    Proportion of participants with an abnormal MRI finding will be reported as an event. An estimated event rate of 19% in participants with a strong family history (FH) of pancreatic cancer and 10% in those participants without a st...

    Recruiting

    Decorative Caduceus

    Study of HRO761 Alone or in Combination in Cancer Patients With Specific DNA Alterations Called...

    Month 36 is assumed to be study end. Incidence and severity of AEs and SAEs by treatment group, including changes in vital signs, electrocardiograms (ECGs) and laboratory results qualifying and reported as AEs.

    Recruiting

    Decorative Caduceus

    Combination Therapy in Cancers With Mutations in DNA Repair Genes

    The percentage of participants with treatment-emergent adverse events as classified and graded by the NCI Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) version 5 will be reported

    Recruiting

    Decorative Caduceus

    Study of AZD5305 as Monotherapy and in Combination With Anti-cancer Agents in Patients With Adv...

    Number of patients with adverse events and with serious adverse events including abnormal clinical observations, abnormal ECG parameters, abnormal laboratory assessments and abnormal vital signs that changed from baseline

    Recruiting

    Decorative Caduceus

    Study of DF1001 in Patients With Advanced Solid Tumors

    To assess the number of adverse events experienced during the study that meet dose limiting toxicity criteria per the study protocol.

    Recruiting

    Decorative Caduceus

    Olaparib and ASTX727 in BRCA1/2- and Homologous Recombination Deficient (HRD)-Mutated Tumors

    Adverse events will be classified and graded by the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (NCI CTCAE) version 5.0 and reported by dose level.

    Recruiting

    Decorative Caduceus

    Efficacy and Safety of Olaparib (MK-7339) in Participants With Previously Treated, Homologous R...

    ORR is defined as the percentage of participants who achieve a confirmed complete response ([CR]; disappearance of all target lesions) or partial response ([PR]: ≥30% decrease in the sum of diameters of target lesions) as assessed...

    Recruiting

    Decorative Caduceus

    Safety & PK of MBRC-101 in Advanced Refractory Solid Tumors

    TEAEs will be graded according to National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (NCI CTCAE) v.5.0.

    Recruiting

    Decorative Caduceus

    A Study of Pazopanib With or Without Abexinostat in Patients With Locally Advanced or Metastati...

    To compare the PFS between treatment arms. PFS is defined as the time (month) interval between date of randomization and date of radiographic disease progression or death for those without prior evidence of progression, as assesse...

    Recruiting

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