Dr. John Sylvester

John Sylvester, MD, FABS is a Radiation Oncologist who formerly practiced with GenesisCare/21st Century Oncology in Bradenton/Sarasota, FL. Prior to that, he cofounded and served as Director of the Seattle Prostate Institute and Director of the Puget Sound Tumor Institute. He is lead investigator in multiple prostate cancer trials. He has published over 90 articles in medical journals and multiple medical textbook chapters on prostate cancer. He co-wrote The Prostate Cancer Treatment Book. He is a member of the American Brachytherapy Society (ABS), The American Society of Therapeutic Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), The AMA, The Florida State Medical Society, and the American College of Radiology.

Dr. Sylvester earned his Medical Degree and completed his Radiation Oncology training at UCLA, where he served as chief resident and was awarded the American Cancer Society Fellowship. Board certified in Radiation Oncology, he began performing prostate brachytherapy with Dr. John Blasko in 1987 and joined the Seattle team full time in 1988.

Dr. Sylvester directed the Puget Sound Tumor Institute from 1991–2000 and co-founded the Seattle Prostate Institute in 1997, where he served as Director of Education and Training for nine years. In this role, he established internationally recognized training programs and conferences that educated more physicians in prostate brachytherapy than any other program worldwide. He later became Director of the Institute (2006–2008) and oversaw the prestigious ABS Fellowship rotation, training future leaders from institutions including UCSF, Harvard, UCLA, Cleveland Clinic, Duke, Princess Margaret, and cancer centers across Australia, New Zealand, England, and South America. Before relocating to Florida in 2011, he served as Chief Medical Officer of ProQura, an organization dedicated to improving the quality of prostate brachytherapy globally.

Over the past three decades, Dr. Sylvester has performed more than 7,000 prostate brachytherapy procedures and contributed to multiple technical innovations in IMRT and brachytherapy. He is frequently invited to present and debate at national and international conferences, including ASTRO, ABS, ASCO, the World Congress of Endourology, Urologic Society of Australasia, European Association of Urology, GEC-ESTRO, and the Scottsdale Prostate Cancer Symposium. He has presented pioneering data, moderated international debates, and remains a sought-after speaker on prostate cancer treatment worldwide and has over 80 publications.

EDUCATION
Bachelor of Arts in Biological Sciences, University of California (1980)
Doctor of Medicine, University of California, UCLA (1984)

RESIDENCY/INTERNSHIP
Internship in Internal Medicine, USC, Huntington Memorial Hospital (1985)
Residency in Radiation Oncology, UCLA (Chief Resident, ACS Fellowship Awardee) (1988)

BOARD CERTIFICATION
American Board of Radiology, Radiation Oncology (1988)

CLINICAL EXPERTISE
Radiation Oncology
Prostate Brachytherapy
Image-Guided and Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy (IG-IMRT)

SPECIAL INTERESTS
Prostate Cancer
Seed Implantation & Brachytherapy
Advanced Radiation Technologies (Calypso 4D, SpaceOAR, Cesium-131)

PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES
American Medical Association (1985)
American Society of Therapeutic Radiology & Oncology (1987)
National Cancer Institute (1988)
Washington State Medical Association (1988)
King County Medical Society (1988)
American College of Radiology (1988)
American College of Radiation Oncology (1991)
American Brachytherapy Society (2004)
Florida State Medical Society (2010)

AWARDS
American Cancer Society Fellowship (87/88)
Top Doctors Radiation Oncology Sarasota Magazine (2012)
Top Doctors Radiation Oncology Sarasota Magazine (2013)
Top Doctors Radiation Oncology Sarasota Magazine (2014)
Manatee Chamber of Commerce Champions of Healthcare Finalist (2014)
Innovation/Research Award Manatee County (2014)
Top Doctors Radiation Oncology Sarasota Magazine (2015)
Top Doctors Radiation Oncology Sarasota Magazine (2016)
Top Doctors Radiation Oncology Sarasota Magazine (2017)
Top Doctors Radiation Oncology Sarasota Magazine (2018)
Top Doctors Radiation Oncology Sarasota Magazine (2019)
Fellow American Brachytherapy Society (FABS) (2019)
Top Doctors Radiation Oncology Sarasota Magazine (2020)
Top Doctors Radiation Oncology Sarasota Magazine (2021)
Top Doctors Radiation Oncology Sarasota Magazine (2022)
Top Doctors Radiation Oncology Sarasota Magazine (2023)
Top Doctors Radiation Oncology Sarasota Magazine (2024)

MEDIA INTERVIEWS/DEMONSTRATIONS
Good Morning America (ABC) (1996)
Melbourne Australia Local TV (1998)
Duluth, Minnesota TV (2003)
KONG, KING, KIRO, KOMO TV January (2007)
Brazil TV (2007)
American Public Radio (2007)
Newspapers in Auckland NZ, Melbourne Australia, Minnesota, London, Seattle, Edmonds, Los Angeles, Freiberg Germany
ABC 7 News Sarasota FL Feb (2014)
WSRQ Talk Radio- News in Prostate Cancer
Bay 9 News Tampa: FDA Approval of SpaceOAR for Radiation in Prostate Cancer (2015)
Sarasota Magazine: article regarding SpaceOAR research and prostate cancer (2015)
NBC Tampa (8): FDA Approval of SpaceOAR for Radiation in Prostate Cancer (2015)

CURRENT AND PAST POSITIONS
Atlantic Urology Specialists, LLC – Radiation Oncologist (2025-present)
GenesisCare – Radiation Oncologist (2021-2024)
GenesisCare – Prostate Cancer Clinical Reference Group – Chairman (2021-2024)
21st Century Oncology – Radiation Oncologist (2012-2021)
Florida State University, College of Medicine – Clinical Assistant Professor (2011-present)
Lakewood Ranch Oncology Center – Medical Director (2010-2012)
Prostate Cancer Treatment Center – Medical Director & Director of Research (2009-2010)
Seattle Prostate Institute – Clinical Research Director (2008-2009)
Seatle Prostate Institute – Medical Director (2006-2008)
ProQura – Chief Medical Officer (2000-2010)
Seattle Prostate Institute – Director of Education & Training (1997-2006)
Seattle Prostate Institute – Cofounder (1997)
Hospice and Homecare Snohomish County – Board of Directors (1996-1998)
Puget Sound Tumor Institute – Director (1991-2002)
Swedish Cancer Institute – Radiation Oncologist (1988-2009)
Tumor Institute Radiation Oncology Group – Employee/Partner (1988-2009)

BEYOND THE WHITE COAT
In his free time, Dr. Sylvester enjoys spending time with his wife and children, skiing, snowboarding, traveling, surfing, scuba diving, reading, hiking, and swimming competitively on the Sarasota Sharks Masters Swim Team.