Dr. Carey provides advanced medical and surgical head and neck cancer care and reconstructive services to patients at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and the Veteran’s Administration Medical Center. He specializes in head and neck oncologic surgery, transoral robotic surgery (TORS), and microvascular reconstructive surgery.
Dr. Carey is a surgeon-scientist engaged in research aimed at improving the diagnosis and treatment of head and neck cancer. He runs a cancer neuroscience lab that investigates how head and neck cancer cells interact with the local tumor environment. His lab is specifically focused on G-protein coupled receptors including taste receptors and how the involved signaling pathways can regulate important cellular processes in head and neck cancer. The goal is to leverage taste receptors as biomarkers or therapeutic targets for treating malignancies. His group is actively translating their basic science findings from bench to bedside through clinical trials on therapies developed in the lab.
Dr. Carey is the sponsor-investigator for “A Phase I Randomized Controlled Trial of Intratumoral Lidocaine Injection Before Transoral Robotic Surgery (TORS) and Neck Dissection for HPV-Associated Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma.” NCT06747390. More information is available at: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06747390
Additional information about the Carey lab is available at: https://www.med.upenn.edu/carey-lab/
Selected Publications
Kaki PC, Patel AM, Choudhry HS, Brant JA, Brody RM, Carey RM: Elective neck dissection in cT1-4 N0M0 head and neck spindle cell carcinoma. Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery April 2025.
Kaki PC, Patel AM, Choudhry HS, Brant JA, Brody RM, Carey RM: Elective neck dissection in cT1-4 N0M0 head and neck spindle cell carcinoma. Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery April 2025.
Kaki PC, Sangal NR, Lam D, Carey RM, Rajasekaran K, Chalian A, Brody RM, Weinstein GS, Cannady SB: Functional Outcomes of Free Flap Reconstruction After TORS in Early-Stage HPV-Positive Oropharyngeal Cancer. Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery March 2025.
Wei K, Hill BL, Miller ZA, Mueller A, Thompson JC, Lee RJ, Carey RM: Bitter Taste Receptor Agonists Induce Apoptosis in Papillary Thyroid Cancer. Head & Neck March 2025 Notes: DOI: 10.1002/hed.28120.
Kaki PC, Patel AM, Brant JA, Cannady SB, Rajasekaran K, Brody RM, Carey RM: Hypoalbuminemia and postoperative outcomes following major salivary gland resection. Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology February 2025.
Kaki PC, Patel AM, Brant JA, Cannady SB, Rajasekaran K, Brody RM, Carey RM: The Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index and Postoperative Outcomes Following Head and Neck Cancer Resection. Head & Neck December 2024.
Tapescu I, Kohler A, Sangal NR, Brant JA, Brody RM, Cao T, Carey RM: Thyroid Malignancies With Thymic Differentiation: Outcomes of Rare SETTLE and CASTLE Tumors. Head Neck November 2024.
Huang L, Patel AM, Haleem A, Brant JA, Maxwell R, Brody RM, Carey RM: Missed Adjuvant Therapy in Human Papillomavirus Positive Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Laryngoscope October 2024.
Patel AM, Haleem A, Revercomb L, Brant JA, Kohanski MA, Adappa ND, Palmer JN, Douglas JE, Carey RM: Surgical resection and overall survival in cT4b sinonasal non-squamous cell carcinoma. Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology October 2024.
Kaki PC, Patel AM, Maxwell R, Brant JA, Brody RM, Adappa ND, Palmer JN, Douglas JE, Carey RM: Choice of adjuvant radiotherapy facility in sinonasal squamous cell carcinoma. Laryngoscope September 2024.
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Last updated: 04/22/2025
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