Irwin H. Krakoff, former director of the University of Vermont Cancer Center who has also served in key jobs at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and MD Anderson Cancer Center, died on Aug. 9 in Savannah, GA.
Krakoff had turned 100 on July 20 (The Cancer Letter, July 28, 2023).
Born in Columbus, OH, to Morris and Freda Krakoff, he earned his undergraduate and medical degrees at The Ohio State University. After a residency at Boston City Hospital and service as a medical officer at the US Naval Base in Yokosuka, Japan, he began a long and distinguished career in cancer research, treatment and education at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
One of the early pioneers, Krakoff served as chief of the chemotherapy service and vice chairman of medicine at MSKCC. His work focused on chemotherapy and pharmacology, and his scientific studies focused on reducing the side-effects of cancer treatments while maintaining their effectiveness.
While at MSKCC, he received the Alfred P. Sloan Award in recognition of his substantial contribution to the care of patients and the understanding of cancer.
In 1976, Krakoff was recruited by the University of Vermont Medical College to be the founding director of its cancer center. He held that post for 7 years during which the center was awarded major funding from the NCI (The Cancer Letter, July 29, 2022; June 4, 1976).
Source: Krakoff, from Hong’s 2019 obituary.
Source: Krakoff and Mackey, from Fidler’s 2020 obituary.
He would get my attention by saying, ‘You guys reach statistically significant answers to insignificant questions.
– Jerome Yates
In 1983, Krakoff was recruited to become the head of the Division of Medicine at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, where in ten years he built one of the world’s most outstanding and respected new drug development programs, while insisting on quality clinical research and unbiased reporting (The Cancer Letter, July 22, 1983).
He counted among his greatest accomplishments the achievements of members of his faculty and the hundreds of fellows that he trained throughout his career. Krakoff’s trainees included Waun Ki Hong (The Cancer Letter, Jan. 11, 2021) and Gianni Bonadonna (The Cancer Letter, Sept. 11, 2015).
Richard Pazdur, director of the FDA Oncology Center of Excellence, was one of the young physicians Krakoff mentored at MD Anderson.
In 1993, Krakoff was awarded the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s highest honor when he gave the David A. Karnofsky lecture at its annual meeting.
After his retirement from M.D. Anderson, he and his wife Rosemary W. Mackey, a cancer center administrator, collaborated on consultations with major medical centers in the United States, Mexico, and Scotland in the restructuring of multidisciplinary clinical and administrative cancer programs; the last of which was the rebuilding of the Cancer Program at NYU Medical Center in New York.
“I last saw Irv Krakoff a few weeks ago when we celebrated his 100th birthday,” said Jerome Yates, a friend who in 1976 recruited Krakoff to the top job at UVM.
“Over the past 50 years, our conversations were often punctuated by humorous observations that kept us both humble in our respective research pursuits,” Yates said. “I was heavily involved in cooperative group clinical studies and he was actively contributing to cancer drug development.
“He would get my attention by saying, ‘You guys reach statistically significant answers to insignificant questions.’”
“Irv was always collaborative in his approach to colleagues, trainees and others involved in cancer research,” Yates said. “He knew the right questions to ask and how best to pursue the right answers.
“I have lost a good friend, and oncology has lost a major contributor to research.”
In a birthday greeting to Krakoff three weeks ago, FDA’s Pazdur wrote:
The traditional Polish birthday wish/greeting is ‘sto lat,’ translating to ‘one hundred years’—how fitting! I often think of Irv, Marty Raber, and my time with both at MD Anderson. Those years were the best of my career. Irv taught me many principles of leadership… Perhaps the best was allowing people space to develop, but always being there if needed. I often relate this principle to those MDs that I lead and attribute it to Irv.
So—sto lat, Irv!
Over the past 50 years, our conversations were often punctuated by humorous observations that kept us both humble in our respective research pursuits.
Jerome Yates
Krakoff is survived by Mackey, his wife of 39 years, his two sons, Peter and Charles Krakoff, his daughter, Ellen (Nellie) Walcoff, two stepdaughters, Catharine Lentz and Claire Thompson, eleven grandchildren and two great granddaughters, all of whom he was immensely proud.
Funeral services will be private.
