Insurance Participation: with Provider Number (where applicable) The information below is subject to change and should not be relied upon until after
it is verified with the insurance company. In addition, psychiatric providers should
be contacted directly for information on their participation with managed care and
insurance companies.
I am a board-certified and fellowship-trained urologic oncologist, specializing in the evaluation and
treatment of cancers of the urinary tract, including prostate, kidney, bladder, testicular, adrenal and penile
cancers. I earned my medical degree at McGill University in Montreal, Canada and also completed my
residency in Urology at McGill. I then completed a two-year fellowship in Urologic Oncology and Robotics at
the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, OH.
I am experienced in the latest diagnostic modalities and have specific expertise in transperineal ultrasound-
MRI fusion biopsy for the diagnosis of prostate cancer, and single-port robotic surgery for the treatment of
prostate, kidney, adrenal and bladder cancers.
I am currently an Associate Professor and the Associate Program Director of the urology residency program at
Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in Newark, New Jersey. I proudly won Teacher of the Year during my
tenure at Montefiore Medical Center in 2021 and have a specific passion for teaching and mentoring medical
students and residents.
I have authored more than 35 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters on urologic oncology,
presented over 30 abstracts at national and international meetings, and working to optimize prostate-specific
antigen (PSA) screening for the early detection of prostate cancer. In addition, I published an online training
module for performing retroperitoneal lymph node dissection for the treatment of metastatic testicular cancer
that is accessible to surgical trainees worldwide.
Prior to joining Rutgers, I practiced in New York at Montefiore Medical Center and was an Assistant
Professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. While at Montefiore, I led a collaboration with
primary care physicians to create a novel prostate cancer screening decision aid designed specifically for
multi-ethnic, underserved communities. I also led the establishment of a first-of-its-kind prostate cancer
center in the Bronx. I have since created a similar decision aid at Rutgers.
My current responsibilities include expanding clinical and research programs at Rutgers, such as clinical trial
development/participation and increasing prostate cancer and PSA screening awareness, especially among
high-risk, minority populations. Since joining Rutgers, I have spearheaded the creation of a prostate cancer
service line that includes screening, diagnostics, molecular biomarkers, genomics
Education
MD, 2009, McGill University Medical School
Licensure & Certification
Medical Licensure New Jersey
Certification American Board of Urology - Urology
Languages
French Hebrew
Relevant Publications
Kovac E, Carlsson SV, Lilja H, Hugosson J, Kattan MW, Holmberg E, Stephenson AJ. Association of Baseline
Prostate-Specific Antigen Level With Long-term Diagnosis of Clinically Significant Prostate Cancer Among
Patients Aged 55 to 60 Years: A Secondary Analysis of a Cohort in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian
(PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2020 Jan 3;3(1):e1919284.
Kovac E, Vertosick EA, Sjoberg DD, Vickers AJ, Stephenson AJ. Effects of Pathologic Upstaging or Upgrading
on Metastasis and Cancer-Specific Mortality in men with Clinical Low-risk Prostate Cancer. BJU Int. 2018
Dec;122(6):1003-1009.
Tilburt JC, Zahrieh D, Pacyna JE, Petereit DG, Kaur JS, Rapkin BD, Grubb RL 3rd, Chang GJ, Morris MJ,
Kovac EZ, Babaian KN, Sloan JA, Basch EM, Peil ES, Dueck AC, Novotny PJ, Paskett ED, Buckner JC, Joyce
DD, Montori VM, Frosch DL, Volk RJ, Kim SP. Decision aids for localized prostate cancer in diverse minority
men: Primary outcome results from a multicenter cancer care delivery trial (Alliance A191402CD). Cancer. 2022
Mar 15;128(6):1242-1251.
Douglass L, Kovac E, Campbell S, Stephenson A, Meade P, Maizels M. Computer-enhanced visual learning:
open primary, nerve-sparing retroperitoneal lymph node dissection. J Pediatr Urol. 2019 May;15(3):270-272.
Evan Kovac, Gregory Lieser, Ahmed El-Shafei, J. Stephen Jones, Eric A. Klein, Andrew J. Stephenson.
Outcomes of Active Surveillance after Initial Surveillance Prostate Biopsy. J Urol. 2017 Jan;197(1):84-89.
Kovac E, Stephenson AJ. Management of Stage I Nonseminomatous Germ Cell Tumors. Urol Clin North Am.
2015 Aug;42(3):299-310.
Areas Of Interest
Course List
Active Surveillance of Low Grade Prostate Cancer
The number of prostate cancer diagnoses has increased with the increasing prevalence of PSA testing since
its introduction in the early 1990s. The majority of these diagnoses are of low-risk, early-stage prostate
cancers. While more aggressive treatment options for prostate cancer are effective, they result in adverse
consequences for patients, affecting bowel, urinary and sexual function. Active surveillance (AS) has become
an important management option for low-risk, early-stage prostate cancer. Active surveillance as a strategy for
management of low-grade prostate cancer allows for the preservation of patient quality of life by
minimizing the harms of radical therapy until it is deemed necessary.
Active surveillance of early-stage prostate cancers longitudinally follows patients and includes evaluation of
Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA), imaging, and periodic biopsies. Currently, there is no universally accepted AS
protocol for low-risk prostate cancers. There are differences in selection criteria, follow-up, reclassification,
and criteria for curative treatment between existing AS protocols. Each protocol's standards seek to
balance quality of life versus curative intent with known side-effects.
With this multivariable analysis study, we wish to highlight the specific factors (such as patient-specific
characteristics, medications, number of biopsies, cancer specific characteristics, etc.) that contribute to
prostate cancer upgrading and upstaging as important outcomes, in our patient population served by
University Hospital. We hope that the knowledge gained from this study will help improve active surveillance
protocols and inform clinicians on the relative safety of active surveillance in traditionally underserved, high-
risk patients.
