- Dr. Jedd D. Wolchok at the 2019 ASCO-SITC Clinical Immuno-Oncology Symposium
By ASCO | Jan. 26, 2022
The field of immunotherapy has come a long way in recent years, but where is it going next? Jedd D. Wolchok, MD, PhD, FASCO, will address this question during his keynote lecture at the 2019 ASCO-SITC Clinical Immuno-Oncology Symposium, “The Future of Immunotherapy.”
Dr. Wolchok is a medical oncologist and the Lloyd J. Old/Virginia and Daniel K. Ludwig Chair in Clinical Investigation at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC). He is also chief of the Melanoma and Immunotherapeutics Service, director of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, and the associate director of the Ludwig Center for Cancer Immunotherapy.
“The field writ large is obviously very popular and busy,” Dr. Wolchok said. “I think we have to be thoughtful about our expectations and not overpromise because the next steps may take longer for us than, say, the rapid development of anti–PD-1 therapies.”
I think we have to be thoughtful about our expectations and not overpromise because the next steps may take longer for us than, say, the rapid development of anti–PD-1 therapies.
Jedd D. Wolchok
- Dr. Steven Nurkin achieves milestone, conducts 500th robot-assisted surgery
By Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center | Jan. 25, 2022
Steven Nurkin, MD, MS, FACS, performed his first robot-assisted surgery (RAS) eight years ago.
In 2021, he concluded his 500th procedure, operating on a patient with colon cancer.
“I saw the promise and what it had to offer complicated cases,” says Dr. Nurkin, who has completed more robot-assisted surgeries for colon and rectal cancer than any other doctor at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. “These were for 500 complex gastrointestinal cancers or precancerous conditions. Roswell Park really is one of the leaders in robotic surgery for cancer.”
- Camille Ragin: A Mission to Fight Disparities in Cancer Care
By Fox Chase Cancer Center | Jan. 24, 2022
Camille Ragin had nearly completed her doctorate when she received a final telephone call from her Aunt Herma before she passed away from breast cancer. “I remember the telephone call to this day. After telling me how proud she was of me, she said, ‘I want you to fight this thing, cancer. I want you to do that research and find the cure so that other people, especially those in the Caribbean, will not have to suffer the way I did.’”
Not long after her aunt’s passing, Ragin ended up pursuing that path and is now a professor in the Cancer Prevention and Control Program at Fox Chase Cancer Center.
Ragin grew up in Portmore, Jamaica, just outside the capital city of Kingston. It was there that her Aunt Janet, a cytotechnologist, introduced her to the microscope. “It was intriguing to see cells in that context,” said Ragin. She went on to excel in biology at her all-girls high school before moving to New York City to earn an undergraduate degree.
I have firsthand knowledge that although Africa is the common ancestral origin of Black subgroups, migrants to the United States, whether forced or voluntary, have differing health characteristics; cultural health beliefs, attitudes, practices; and genetic admixture.
Camille Ragin
This column features the latest posts to the Cancer History Project by our growing list of contributors.
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