Azra Raza, author of The First Cell: And the Human Costs of Pursuing Cancer to the Last, oncologist and professor of medicine at Columbia University, and fellow 3QD editor, decided to speak to more than 20 leading cancer investigators and ask each of them the same five questions listed below. She videotaped the interviews and over the next months we will be posting them here one at a time each Monday. Please keep in mind that Azra and the rest of us at 3QD neither endorse nor oppose any of the answers given by the researchers as part of this project. Their views are their own. 1. We were treating AML with 7+3 in 1977. We are still doing the same. What is the best way forward to change it by 2028? 2. There are 3.5 million papers on cancer, 135,000 in 2017 alone. There is a staggering disconnect between great scientific insights and translation to improved therapy. What are we doing wrong? 3. The fact that children respond to the same treatment better than adults seems to suggest that the cancer biology is different and also that the host is different. Since most cancers increase with age, even having good therapy may not matter as the host is decrepit. Solution? 4. You have great knowledge and experience in the field. If you were given limitless resources to plan a cure for cancer, what will you do? 5. Offering patients with advanced stage non-curable cancer, palliative but toxic treatments is a service or disservice in the current therapeutic landscape?
Dr. Patrizia Paterlini-Bréchot is a tenured Professor of Cell and Molecular Biology and Oncology at Paris Descartes University and head of a research team at the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM). She studied medicine at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, where she specialized in hematology and oncology. In 1988…
Özden Özer, M.D. is a Hematopathologist at Marmara Leukemia Lymphoma Pathology Laboratory in Istanbul, Turkey. Dr. Özer had her medical training at Marmara University Faculty of Medicine Medical School and pathology training at Northwestern University School of Medicine, McGaw Medical Center, as well as at the University of Chicago where she trained under Drs. Janet Rowley…
Jayesh Mehta, M.D. is a Professor of Medicine (Hematology Oncology) and Chez Family Professor of Myeloma Research at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago Illinois. Dr. Mehta has conducted numerous clinical trials and published more than 320 publications describing his findings. Dr. Mehta was awarded more than 20 grants including some from…
Seema Singhal, M.D., is a Professor of Medicine (Hematology Oncology) and Chez Family Professor of Myeloma Research at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago Illinois. Dr. Singhal has conducted numerous clinical trials and published more than 230 publications describing her findings. She is the key opinion leader in Myeloma treatment and authored…
Leroy “Lee” Edward Hood is a Senior Vice President and Chief Science Officer, Providence St. Joseph Health; Chief Strategy Officer, Co-founder and Professor at Institute for Systems Biology. Previously Dr. Hood served on the faculties at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the University of Washington. Dr. Hood is a world-renowned scientist and a…
Leonidas C. Platanias, MD, PhD, is the director of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University. He is the Lurie Family Professor of Oncology and Professor of Medicine and Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology and started his research career at the National Institutes…
Jaroslaw Maciejewski, MD, PhD is a Chairman of Translational Hematology and Oncology Research at the Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Institute, and a professor of medicine at Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University. He is also Associate Director for Translational Research and Co-Leader, Hematopoietic and Immune Cancer Biology Program, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center.…
Dr. Robert A. Gatenby is the pioneer of Integrative Mathematical Oncology making Moffitt Cancer Center the only one in the world that has completely integrated mathematical modeling and computer simulations into basic science and clinical research. His goal is to use mathematics to examine the physiology of a tumor, including factors such as phenotypic evolution,…
Michelle M. Le Beau, Arthur and Marian Edelstein Professor of Medicine, is a leading authority in hematologic malignancies. Her groundbreaking research led to the identification of the recurring cytogenetic abnormalities in hematological malignant diseases, in defining the clinical, morphological, and cytogenetic subsets of leukemias and lymphomas, and in identifying the genetic pathways that lead to…
Stavroula Kousteni, is the Associate Professor of Medicine in Physiology and Cellular Biophysics at Columbia University Medical Center. The goal of her research is to understand the influence of the skeleton on various physiological processes, to uncover the pathogenesis of degenerative diseases and to suggest therapies for them. She is currently examining the role of…
Dr. Antonio “Tito” Fojo specializes in the management of patients with adrenocortical cancer, malignant pheochromocytoma, neuroendocrine malignancies, and thyroid cancer; his current laboratory efforts are focused on developing therapies to treat such patients. Dr. Fojo has worked to understand the molecular basis of drug resistance, he was involved in the original work relating to several…
Dr. Steven Fruchtman is a hematologist with extensive industry experience in clinical research for myelodysplastic syndromes, hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. He is an author of more than 170 lectures, presentations, books, and chapters. Previously, Dr. Fruchtman served as the Director of the Myeloproliferative Disorder Program at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City and…
Dr. Alan Burnett has a main research interest in the development of treatments for Acute Myeloid Leukemia. He has served on numerous advisory committees and is a past President of the British Society of Haematology and Chair of the UK National Training Programme. Professor Burnett was appointed as Chair of the National Cancer Research Institute…
Dr. Mustafa Çetiner is well-known for his research in Hematology and has published numerous articles in different national and international journals and three books on Hematological Malignancies. He was the chairman of the Turkish Hematology Society Bone Marrow Deficiency Scientific Subcommittee during 2014-2018. He is a member of many national and international associations, including Turkish…
Dr. Burhan Ferhanoglu is specialized in areas of lymphoma, Hematological Malignancies and multiple myeloma. He is a member of many national and international scientific societies, including the Turkish Hematology Association, American Society of Hematology, European Bone Marrow Transplantation Society and International Society of hematology. In 1998, he became the chief of the Hematology Department of…
Dr. Mark Heaney is a hematologist and an active principal investigator of several clinical trials that have aimed at developing novel treatments for leukemia. His research has focused on metabolic differences between leukemia cells and normal cells that can provide understanding into how leukemias behave in the individual patient and how they respond to treatment.…
Dr. Joseph Jurcic specializes in the research of acute myeloid leukemia, radioimmunotherapy with alpha and beta particle-emitting radioisotopes, monoclonal antibody therapy for leukemia, and the molecular monitoring of minimal residual disease. His work focuses on the treatment of acute and chronic leukemias, myeloproliferative neoplasms, and myelodysplastic syndrome. He received the 2001 Louis and Allston Boyer…
Dr. Benjamin Ebert is remarkable for his leadership in describing the genomic landscape of adult myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), including identifying critical new roles for ribosomal dysfunction. His laboratory discovered the molecular basis of lenalidomide activity in MDS as well as multiple myeloma. Recent studies have identified clonal hematopoiesis and its contribution to both hematologic malignancies…
Dr. Gary Schwartz is a recognized leader in the field of translational research and has been able to connect the basic and clinical science elements of drug development. His research focuses on the identification of new targeted agents for cancer therapy, especially in the treatment of sarcoma and melanoma. He earned NCI K24 and K12…
Dr Robert Gallo, a biomedical researcher, is renowned for his role in the discovery of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) as the infectious agent responsible for AIDS and in the development of HIV blood tests. He co-founded Profectus BioSciences, Inc., a biotechnology company. Profectus develops and commercializes technologies to reduce the morbidity and mortality caused by…