Waun Ki Hong, legend and “mentor magnificus,” in his own words

Major Topics Covered:

• Personal and educational background; military experience
• Research: organ preservation (especially of the larynx), studies of leukoplakias, Vitamin A, chemoprevention, and personalized, targeted therapy; multi-disciplinary approaches to diseases of the aero-digestive system
• Approaches to research design, team science, translational research
• The Department of Thoracic and Head and Neck Medical Oncology: organization, fellowship program, creating an environment for excellence
• The Division of Cancer Medicine
• MD Anderson growth; the presidents
• Leadership; leading teams, fostering collaboration

Yesterday, I received a succession of phone calls through the afternoon and evening—from Roy Herbst, chief of medical oncology at the Yale Cancer Center, Marge Foti, president of the American Association for Cancer Research, Patrick Hwu, head of the Division of Cancer Medicine at the MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC), and Otis Brawley, professor of oncology at Johns Hopkins University.

They all wanted to know if I had heard the terrible and unexpected news that Waun Ki Hong had passed away—and to check that I was OK. In circumstances like this, OK is a relative term, but my first thoughts are with the man himself and his family. And what a man he was.

This week, we lost a cancer research pioneer, and friend and mentor to many in the field, with the sudden death of Waun Ki Hong, M.D., a world-renowned clinical researcher who leaves behind a remarkable legacy.

He was a trail-blazing scientist whose innovations led to successful organ-sparing cancer treatment. Best known as the father of chemoprevention, his groundbreaking clinical trial at MD Anderson to treat precancerous lesions for oral cancers established proof of principle for preventing cancer by treating its precursor growths. This rapidly rippled to improve treatment for other disease sites, such as the use of tamoxifen and raloxifene to prevent breast cancer.

Breakthroughs such as these earned him many of the oncology field’s most prestigious accolades during his career at MD Anderson, starting in 1984 as Head and Neck Medical Oncology section chief and then leading the Cancer Medicine Division from 2001 to 2014, in addition to serving as the institution’s vice provost for clinical research from 2012 to 2013.

Dr. Hong was truly loved and revered worldwide. He was so deeply respected that few of us could actually address him as “Ki” as he requested. Every time I tried, “Dr. Hong” would come out of my mouth instead. All of those around him knew that, in his heart, he always wanted the best for us.

I was heartbroken to learn of the passing of my mentor, colleague, and friend, Waun Ki Hong. Dr. Hong was the quintessential physician scientist who specialized in all aspects of medicine, but most notably patient care, research, and education. This is a devastating loss for the entire oncology community, and especially for all of the patients he cared for and helped.

Though he has departed, his findings will continue to help those patients for years to come, including his groundbreaking innovations in the treatment of locally advanced head and neck cancer, precision medicine, chemoprevention, and targeted therapy. Just think about how lung cancer treatment has changed in 20 years with the advent of targeted therapy, precision guided biopsies, and immunotherapy, thanks to his leadership.

I have had the privilege of accepting young men and women into medical oncology fellowship programs at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the University of Vermont Cancer Center and MD Anderson Cancer Center and I have watched many of them shine as they took on both academic and community oncology positions throughout the United States and the world.

Waun Ki Hong was special.

On Jan. 2, my friend and long-time mentor Waun Ki Hong passed away. In thinking about what Ki did for me personally and the impact he had on the lives and professional careers of so many people, I pulled out a speech I gave at his retirement celebration at MD Anderson on Aug. 15, 2014. I was struck that even in his passing so many of my thoughts ring true today. Perhaps this will give readers of The Cancer Letter a sense of the man.

I first came to know Dr. Hong in 1983 after he recruited me to the Boston University School of Medicine/Boston VA upon completion of my medical oncology fellowship at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Shortly thereafter, Dr. Hong moved to the MD Anderson Cancer Center, where, as you know, he has had an amazing tenure, stimulating the career trajectories of numerous physicians and scientists and disseminating his passion and enthusiasm for cancer science throughout the institution, thereby changing it forever.

Waun Ki Hong and John Mendelsohn were singular forces who combined to change the world of oncology and, in the process, the lives of countless trainees, faculty, patients, and families.

After these giants of cancer research and treatment died last month—they died five days apart—much was said about their careers and awards, of which there were many. All of this was important, but it’s done, and now we can look at some of the timeless and instinctive leadership ingredients that shaped Ki’s and John’s success.

Through the course of many interactions, their approach to life synergized with each other, and they genuinely became the legends that they created. The relationship was not superficial. They were equals, and they took the time to learn from each other. They worked and played (tennis) together, they discussed programs and science, and in the end, they took care of each other. Whether they explicitly discussed leadership principles we may never know, but the closeness of the relationship suggests that they communicated deeply about how to work effectively in the context of complex academic and scientific systems to accomplish their personal goals while promoting institutional objectives and the work and careers of others.

Those of us lucky enough to have been mentees and colleagues of Ki and John experienced the unique dynamism and influence of each. What they did, and their impact, is a matter of public record; how they did it is another matter altogether.