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Pamela S. Becker

Pamela S. Becker

Pamela S. Becker, MD, PhD

33 Years of Experience
Top Doctor
The Top Doctor award is a peer-nominated award for providers who give exceptional care.
Physician
Seattle Cancer Care Alliance
Professor, Hematology and Medicine
University of Washington School of Medicine
Member, Clinical Research Division
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Clinical expertise
Bone marrow transplantation, hematologic malignancies, leukemia, myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN)
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Located at
SCCA South Lake Union
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  • Specialties
  • Education
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  • Clinical trials
“

I feel like I have a responsibility to always do better for my patients. It’s up to me to make sure that we give them every opportunity to preserve their quality of life and cure their disease.

”
— Dr. Becker

Why did you become a hematologist?

I have been interested in hematology since I was about 12 years old. I would hang out in the hospital laboratories with my father, who’s a pathologist. I’d look at blood under the microscope at home. My interests in hematology just took off from there as I entered college. I conducted undergraduate research on the proteins present in blood plasma. My PhD thesis was on red blood cells. During residency, I fought for extra rotations on hematology oncology and bone marrow transplant. I enjoy that half of my time is spent in my lab and the other half with my patients.

Pamela S. Becker

Specialties and clinical expertise
The branch of medicine a provider practices and their areas of focus

Hematology-Oncology

Precision medicine

I conduct work on the development of precision medicine for blood cancers. In my laboratory, we test for gene mutations and gene expression, and we perform functional screening where we take an individual patient’s blood, bone marrow or tissue samples and expose those cells to panels on disease-specific compounds. We have 150 to 175 different drugs and drug combinations that are tested for each disease. Using an artificial intelligence system, algorithms are developed to fine-tune drug combinations. We pick these combinations by choosing the ones that are most effective at killing the blood cancer cells. After determining which drug combinations work best for the patient, I enroll the patient in a clinical trial that offers those drugs.

Blood cancers

Most of my patients have already failed all other standard drug regimens so they are anxious to participate in a clinical trial. I currently have trials open for acute myeloid leukemia, acute lymphoblastic leukemia and multiple myeloma. Additional rare blood disorders will be eligible for my trials in the future.

Diseases treated

Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)
Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia
Aplastic Anemia
Blood Disorders
Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML)
Gaucher Disease
Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS)
Plasma Cell Leukemia
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What is your approach to care?

I always think about how Captain “Sully” Sullenberger landed his commercial airplane on the Hudson River then kept asking if all his passengers were okay. He didn’t rest until he knew that every single passenger had survived. He had a 100 percent survival rate. I feel like I have that responsibility in my work as well. It’s up to me to try to do better for patients and make sure that we give them every opportunity to preserve their quality of life and cure their disease. That’s what I strive to do for all my blood disorder and blood cancer patients.

Education, experience and certifications

Undergraduate Degree
Harvard University
Medical Degree
Harvard Medical School
Residency
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center-Harvard Medical School, Internal Medicine
Fellowship
Yale University School of Medicine, Hematology
Board Certification
Internal Medicine, 1990, 2000; Hematology, 1992, 2002, 2012, American Board of Internal Medicine
Other
PhD, Harvard University; Teaching appointment, Yale University School of Medicine; Faculty appointment, University of Massachusetts Medical School

Languages

English

Your care team

At SCCA, you receive care from a team of providers with extensive experience in your disease. Your team includes doctors, a team coordinator, a registered nurse, an advanced practice provider and others, based on your needs. You also have access to experts like nutritionists, social workers, acupuncturists, psychiatrists and more who specialize in supporting people with cancer or blood disorders.
See providers with similar expertise
Heather A. Smith, PA-C
Heather A. Smith, PA-C, MMSc
Physician Assistant
Advanced Practice Provider
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Registered nurse (RN)
Your nurse manages your care alongside your physician and assists with care procedures and treatments.
Team coordinator (TC)
Your team coordinator works closely with you and your physician and serves as your scheduler.

Clinical trials

We make promising new treatments available to you through studies called clinical trials led by SCCA doctors. Many of these trials at SCCA have led to FDA-approved treatments and have improved standards of care globally. Together, you and your doctor can decide if a study is right for you.
Read our Patient Guide to Clinical Trials
High Throughput Drug Sensitivity Assay and Genomics- Guided Treatment of Patients With Relapsed or Refractory Acute Leukemia
Study No: NCT02551718
Phase: Pilot
View Trial
Clinical Study of CWP232291 in Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patients
Study No: NCT03055286
Phase: Phase I/II
View Trial
Previous Study | Return to List | Next Study Panobinostat, Carfilzomib and Dexamethasone in Patients With Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma
Study No: NCT03256045
Phase: Phase II
View Trial
PCM-075 in Combination With Either Low-dose Cytarabine or Decitabine in Adult Patients With Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)
Study No: NCT03303339
Phase: Phase I/II
View Trial
See more clinical trials

Press and news

SCCA providers are often asked to give their medical advice for press and news publications. Read articles by or about this SCCA provider.
Artificial Intelligence and Algorithms Fight Cancer
By Ivanhoe Broadcast News - Published September 18, 2018
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Cancer Breakthrough at UW
By KIRO 7 News - Published January 17, 2018
View More

Publications

Many of our SCCA physicians conduct ongoing research to improve standards of patient care. Their work is evaluated by other physicians and selected for publication to the United States National Library of Medicine, the largest medical library in the world. See scientific papers this SCCA provider has written.
Need for routine examination of left ventricular ejection fraction in patients with AML.
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Awards

Seattle magazine's 2018 Top Doctors award
Dr. Becker was nominated by her peers for this award, because of her excellent care.
Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Washington/Alaska Chapter Visionary Research Champion Award
Insurance
SCCA accepts most national private health insurance plans as well as Medicare. We also accept Medicaid for people from Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho. We are working to ensure that everyone, no matter what their financial situation, has access to the care they need.
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Clinical Trials
  • High Throughput Drug Sensitivity Assay and Genomics- Guided Treatment of Patients With Relapsed or Refractory Acute Leukemia
  • Clinical Study of CWP232291 in Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patients
  • Previous Study | Return to List | Next Study Panobinostat, Carfilzomib and Dexamethasone in Patients With Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma
  • PCM-075 in Combination With Either Low-dose Cytarabine or Decitabine in Adult Patients With Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)
  • Study to Determine the Efficacy of Uproleselan (GMI-1271) in Combination With Chemotherapy to Treat Relapsed/Refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia
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