Thomas B. Tomasi Jr., who led Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center as president and CEO from 1986 to 1996, died March 23 at age 97. His tenure marked a renaissance at Roswell Park that elevated it to a place among the nation’s top cancer centers.
Dr. Thomas B. Tomasi, Jr. president and CEO of Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center from 1986 to 1996, died on March 23. He was 97.
In the 1970s, when E. Donnall Thomas was researching bone marrow transplantation, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center started a database of transplant recipients.
Credit: NCI/Linda BartlettIn an oral history conducted by FDA in September 2013, Andrew C. von Eschenbach recounted his eight-month stint in a dual role as both FDA acting commissioner and NCI director.
In 1991, the National Breast Cancer Coalition demanded that the federal government spend $300 million more on breast cancer research. This push resulted in the creation of the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program, which has broadened to 34 other diseases with an FY24 budget of $1.5 billion.
When Helene Brown, a cancer control pioneer who jokingly described herself as “the first in a long line of political oncologists,” delivered the keynote address at the Oncology Nursing Society annual meeting in 1990, she set forth bold predictions for the ensuing 20 years of the field: appointments conducted over “computerphone,” major genetic breakthroughs, and universal healthcare.
The definition of “therapeutic imperative” is this: A treatment necessity that must be met in order to prevent death. Once the imperative is clearly defined, addressing it properly links correct diagnosis with therapy and favorable prognosis. On the other hand, misdiagnosis or inadequate diagnosis fails to provide a framework for highly effective or curative therapy.
This year, Fred Hutch Cancer Center celebrates its 50th anniversary. Fred Hutch will be marking this milestone with a series of historical articles, a timeline, photo archives, and more as the year progresses.
In 1984, Peter Greenwald brought a concern about food labeling to FDA. He felt that the “standards of identity”—the standards a food product must meet in order to be marketed under a certain name—went against the best available public health evidence.
Nearly 30 years ago, while completing an assignment for his master’s degree in public health, Brian Rivers discovered he had a family history of prostate cancer.
