Brett Ecker, MD

Brett L. Ecker, MD, surgical oncologist, is a member of RWJBarnabas Health Medical Group and Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey’s Division of Surgical Oncology.

Dr. Ecker is part of the surgical oncology practice which, together with Rutgers Cancer Institute, is the highest-volume pancreatic cancer surgery program in New Jersey.

Dr. Ecker’s practice will be focused in the RWJBH Oncology Northern Region - primarily working at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center, Jersey City Medical Center and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. His clinical areas of interest include pancreatic tumors, pancreatic cystic lesions, ampullary adenocarcinoma, liver tumors, cholangiocarcinoma, gallbladder cancer, cancer metastatic to the liver, hepatic artery infusion pump therapy, gastric tumors, esophageal cancer, intestinal tumors, neuroendocrine tumors, and minimally invasive surgery (laparoscopic and robotic).

Dr. Ecker completed his postdoctoral fellowship in Complex General Surgical Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York. Prior to that, he completed a residency along with a post-doctoral research fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. He received his medical degree at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and undergraduate degree from Brown University.

Throughout his surgical training, Dr. Ecker was given numerous honors and distinctions. He graduated from Mount Sinai School of Medicine with a Distinction in Research prize, AOA Honor Society induction, and the Mrs. David A. Dreiling Surgery prize. As a surgical resident at the University of Pennsylvania, he annually achieved the Penn Center of Surgical Excellence Award, and graduated as the Keith Reemtsma Surgical Resident of the Year. Additionally, he was editor-in-chief for the Penn Evidence-Based Literature Review and received the Jonathan E. Rhoads Research award, the Penn Pearls award for excellence in clinical teaching and induction into the Gold Humanism Honor Society. At Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, he acted as the Chief Fellow for the 2021-2022 academic year.

Committed to academic medicine, Dr. Ecker is an assistant professor in the Department of Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology at the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. He is also a faculty member at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey. Dr. Ecker has authored more than sixty-three original papers, four book chapters and thirty-five abstracts. He is a peer review for ten trade journals including JAMA Oncology, Annals of Surgery, Annals of Surgical Oncology and Journal of American College of Surgeons.

Philosophy of Care:

My experiences have taught me that the key to patient care is to be patient focused and committed to clinical excellence. I put the patient’s needs first – a value that I continue to hold and practice every day. I will work with you and your family to create a personalized treatment plan that utilizes the most advanced cancer diagnostics and therapeutics. I feel privileged to work alongside the many expert cancer providers and compassionate staff of RWJBarnabas and the Cancer Institute of New Jersey. Together, along with our multidisciplinary disease management team, which includes medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, gastroenterologists, radiologists, pathologists, genetic counselors and dietitians, we will strive to bring you the highest level of evidence-based care - including access to clinical trials. Our overall mission is to deliver outstanding cancer care and to achieve the best outcomes for our patients in New Jersey and beyond.