Associate Professor of Medicine
Harvard/MGH
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Medical School: Tufts University, Boston
Residency: BIDMC, Harvard, Boston
Medical Oncology Fellowship: National Cancer Institute, Bethesda Maryland
My clinical efforts involve treating patients with gastrointestinal (GI) malignancies. From 1995-2004, I expanded the MGH GI Medical Oncology program from one full-time physican to recruiting five physicians. I turned my efforts to directing the experimental therapeutics/phase I program at MGH from 2005 until 2010. And continue to be an active member of both GI Medical Oncology and experimental therapeutics programs. I was also significantly involved in development, implementation, and improving the initial chemotherapy order entry system (COE) for DFBWCC-MGHCC. For the past decade, I have been especially interested in treatment of gastroesophageal cancers and peritoneal carcinomatosis.
My research efforts have focused on evaluation of new agents or combinations for treating malignancies, especially GI cancers. I’m specifically interested in approaches targeting proteins mutated or over-expressed in malignant cells, such as KRAS, BRAF, or growth factor receptors (e.g. HER2, EGFR, ALK, ROS1, MET). including early evaluation of novel agents as well as integration of agents with standard chemotherapy. Studies I have led include the: CALGB FOLFOX + Trastuzumab phase II trial in colorectal cancer; initial United States sorafenib phase I trial (subsequently approved for various malignancies including hepatocellular and renal cancers); and phase I trial of Crizotinib (small molecule inhibitor of ALK,ROS1, MET kinases) subsequently approved for treating tumors harboring ALK or ROS1 mutations, including Non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) and ALK+ anaplastic large cell lymphomas. Crizotinib also showed antitumor activity against MET amplified tumors and NSCLC that have a met exon 14 deletion. I have also been interested in utilizing combined modality (surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy) approaches in treating GI malignancies, working with medical, radiation, and surgical oncologists in designing clinical trials evaluating new approaches aimed at enhancing therapeutic efficacy.