In March 2014, the Cancer & the Kidney International Network (c-kin.org) officially launched as an organization with several ASCO members actively involved as part of the Board of Founding Members, including Matti S. Aapro, MD, of the Multidisciplinary Oncology Institute in Genolier, Switzerland; Vincent Launay-Vacher, PharmD, of Pitié- Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris; Stuart M. Lichtman, MD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York; Florian Scotté, MD, of the George Pompidou European Hospital in Paris; and Hans Wildiers, MD, PhD, of the University Hospital Gasthuisberg Leuven in Belgium. C-KIN aims to improve patient care through better knowledge, information and awareness on cancer and kidney-related issues.

The American Association for Cancer Research elected Jose Baselga, MD, PhD, Physician-in- Chief at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, as President-Elect for 2014-2015.

Ami S. Bhatt, MD, PhD, Hematology/Oncology Fellow, at the Dana- Farber Cancer Institute, received an American Society of Hematology 2014 Scholar Award for $100,000.

Thomas Burke, MD, Executive Vice President of MD Anderson Cancer Network, received the President’s Leadership Award for Advancing Women Faculty.

Quyen Chu, MD, MBA, FACS, received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor from the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations. Dr. Chu is Professor of Surgery, Chief of Surgical Oncology, and Director of the Peritoneal Surface Malignancies Program, at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-Shreveport.

OncoSec Medical Inc., named Adil Daud, MD, Clinical Professor of Hematology/Oncology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Director of Melanoma Clinical Research at the UCSF Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, as Chief Clinical Strategist.

Angela M. DeMichele, MD, is the inaugural Chair-Holder of the Jill and Alan Miller Associate Professorship in Breast Cancer Excellence at Penn Medicine’s Abramson Cancer Center.

Irene M. Ghobrial, MD, and Robert Z. Orlowski, MD, PhD, each received “The New Idea Award” from The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Dr. Ghobrial is the Director of the Michele and Stephen Kirsch Laboratory at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Dr. Orlowski is the Florence Maude Thomas Cancer Research Professor for the Department of Lymphoma/ Myeloma, at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

The American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation awarded Mary Horowitz, MD, MS, the 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award. Dr. Horowitz is the Robert A. Uihlein, Jr. Chair in Hematologic Research and Professor of Medicine and Chief of Hematology and Oncology at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.

Judith S. Kaur, MD, Medical Director for the Native American Programs at the Mayo Comprehensive Cancer Center, was honored at the 2013 Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science’s National Conference.

Andrew H. Ko, MD, a Gastrointestinal Cancer Specialist at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), received a 2013 UCSF Hematology and Oncology Division Teaching Award.

Emily M. Ko, MD, MSCR, received a 2013 Young Investigator Award from the Gynecologic Oncology Group and accepted a position as Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

William Pao, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Division of Hematology- Oncology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, received a 2013 Chinese American Medical Society Scientific Award and a Certificate of Recognition from the Vanderbilt Research Institute for Clinical and Translational Research.

Prima BioMed, Ltd., welcomed Eric Pujade- Lauraine, MD, PhD, to their Clinical Advisory Board. Dr. Pujade- Lauraine is founder of the French GINECO Group and head of the Women Cancers and Clinical Research Department at Hopitaux Universitaires Paris Centre, and current Chair of the Gynecologic Cancer Intergroup.

Indiana University School of Medicine named Bert Howard O’Neil, MD, the inaugural Joseph W. and Jackie J. Cusick Professor of Oncology and a Professor of Medicine. Dr. O’Neil is also Phase I Director and Director of Gastrointestinal Cancer Research at the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center.

Gabrielle B. Rocque, MD, accepted a position as Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. She also received a Bill and Judy Bridgers Endowed Scholarship to pursue a Master’s Degree in Public Health.

Adam M. Schmitt, MD, was named Chief Resident in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Stanford University.

Bon Secours St. Francis Health System appointed Robert Siegel, MD, as Medical Director of its oncology program.

Andres O. Soriano, MD, joined the Florida Cancer Specialists and Research Institute.

Sarah Thayer, MD, PhD, the W. Gerald Austen Scholar in Academic Surgery and Director of the Pancreatic Cancer Biology Lab at Harvard Medical School, has been named the Merle M. Musselman Centennial Professor of Surgery and Chief of Surgical Oncology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

In Memoriam

Chusilp Charnsangavej, MD
M Farhataziz, MD, PhD
Selma R. Schimmel
Katsuji Shinagawa, MD, PhD

2014 ASCO Annual Meeting Education Program at Your Fingertips

ASCO Educational Book articles highlight standards of care in oncology and look toward future therapeutic possibilities. The 2014 ASCO Educational Book contains 102 articles from 68 Annual Meeting education sessions. An expert panel reviewed each article’s fair/balanced nature, as well as its clinical relevance, educational value, accuracy, and completeness. Visit asco.org/edbook to search for articles by title, author name, or track.

Dr. Nagi El Saghir Awarded Lebanon’s Top Honor

In June, Nagi El Saghir, MD, FACP, received one of Lebanon’s most highly regarded honors, the National Cedar Medal, rank of Officer. The award recognized Dr. El Saghir’s work in breast cancer research and community health awareness and outreach.

The honor, presented to Dr. El Saghir on behalf of President Michel Sleiman, is the second highest recognition he’s received, after the National Achievement Award of Lebanon bestowed upon him in 2002. “Recognition of my efforts and achievements by the President of Lebanon is both an honor and another call to duty to continue working towards local, regional and international control of cancer, while making sure that we take care of our patients with full respect and compassion,” said Dr. El Saghir.

An ASCO member since 1984, Dr. El Saghir is the Immediate Past-Chair of the ASCO International Affairs Committee, Founder and Past-President of the Lebanese Society of Medical Oncology, Founder and President of the Lebanese Breast Cancer Foundation, and author of the book “ABC of Breast Diseases: Prevention – Early Detection – Treatment” in Arabic. He also serves as Professor and Director of the Breast Center of Excellence at the Naef K. Basile Cancer Institute, a part of the American University of Beirut Medical Center in Beirut, Lebanon.
 

House Special Order Honors ASCO’s 50th Anniversary

The U.S. House of Representatives held a Special Order in May in honor of ASCO as it celebrates its 50th anniversary. During the event, which took place on the House floor, Congressional members highlighted critical advancements in cancer care over the last 50 years and the impact of ASCO’s work on driving progress and innovation.

U.S. Representatives Leonard Lance [R-NJ], Brian Higgins [D-NY], Chuck Fleischmann [R-TN], and Sheila Jackson Lee [D-TX] discussed the ways in which ASCO has driven progress and worked to addressed key challenges in oncology over the past five decades. “When ASCO was founded cancer was widely regarded as an untreatable disease with fewer than one-half of patients alive five years after diagnosis,” said Rep. Lance. “Because of the work of passionate advocates and tireless champions, and of the expertise of talented medical professionals, including those at the American Society of Clinical Oncology, today the survival rate is higher than two-thirds.”

“They [ASCO] had their first real meeting with 51 physicians in November of 1964, and I’m glad that they organized because as we watch the progression of research and care in the treatment of cancer, we owe a great deal to them,” said Rep. Jackson Lee.

Speakers also discussed prevention, disparities in cancer care, and federal funding of research. Rep. Higgins discussed the importance of funding the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) stating, “To sustain cancer research is to produce promising new therapies, but to also encourage young researchers to stay in the field and that’s our obligation as Democrats and Republicans of this [governing] body in recognizing that we must fully fund the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute.”

New ASCO Committee Members Take Office

The Society’s newest slate of committee members took office following the 2014 Annual Business Meeting, held June 2, in Chicago. The 2015 Committee Chairs include:

Membership—Richard Lester Stephen Jennelle, MD
CCF Grant Selection— Eduardo M. Sotomayor, MD
International Affairs— Peter George Harper, MD
Quality of Care— Anne C. Chiang, MD, PhD
Cancer Education— Apar Kishor Ganti, MD, MBBS
CME Subcommitee— Catherine H. Van Poznak, MD
Scientific Program— Lynn Mara Schuchter, MD
Cancer Research— Emile E. Voest, MD, PhD
Workforce Advisory Group— Michael P. Kosty, MD, FACP, FASCO
Cancer Prevention— Stephen B. Gruber, MD, PhD
Cancer Survivorship— Paul B. Jacobsen, PhD
Health Disparities— Christopher Flowers, MD, MS
Clinical Practice— Dan Sayam Zuckerman, MD
Cancer Communications— Don S. Dizon, MD
Bylaws Committee— Susan Lerner Cohn, MD
Ethics Committee— Mark E. Robson, MD
Clinical Practice Guidelines— Alok A. Khorana, MD
Professional Development— Arti Hurria, MD
Career Development— Jyoti D. Patel, MD
Oncology Training Programs— Helen K. Chew, MD
Lifelong Learning— Sonali M. Smith, MD
Government Relations— Phillip J. Stella, MD

New Members

Please join us in welcoming the following new ASCO members as of July 1, 2014: