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Famous Oncologists

In 2009, the death rates for all cancers combined decreased for the first time in 10 years, according to the National Cancer Institute. Thousands of doctors and researchers have worked tirelessly to decrease cancer mortality through improved cancer treatments. Most are unknown, but a few have achieved special recognition for their efforts in the field of oncology.

  1. 1989 Nobel Prize Winners

    • J. Michael Bishop and Harold E. Varmus won the 1989 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering oncogenes. These genes direct typical cell growth, but they have the ability to transform a normal cell into a cancerous cell. Oncogene discovery profoundly changed the direction of cancer research; new drugs, such as Herceptin and Gleevec, target oncogene processes. In 2009, Bishop stepped down from his post as chancellor of the University of California, San Francisco after 11 years of service. Varmus was the first Nobel laureate to serve as director of the National Institutes of Health. In 2008, he was chosen by the Obama administration to co-chair the Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

    Cancer Warrior -- Dr. Judah Folkman

    • Harvard professor Judah Folkman, M.D., developed the angiogenesis theory, which states that a tumor is able to create its own blood supply. Dozens of cancer drugs were developed based on his research. These angiogenesis inhibitors shut down the blood supply that kills the tumor. Folkman died of a heart attack in 2008 at age 74. His research is chronicled in the award-winning PBS documentary "Cancer Warrior."

    Living Proof -- Dr. Dennis Slamon

    • Dennis Slamon, M.D., may be the most well known oncologist in the United States, due in large part to the Lifetime original movie "Living Proof." He discovered a link between the HER2 gene and a deadly type of breast cancer. His research resulted in a new drug for a gene-based cancer therapy. Robert Bazell chronicles the drug's development in his book "Her-2: The Making of Herceptin, a Revolutionary Treatment for Breast Cancer." Slamon has been with UCLA since 1979, where he continues his research.

    2009 Lasker Award Winners

    • Dubbed America's Nobel Prize, the Lasker Awards are among the most prestigious in science. Brian J. Druker, M.D., Nicholas B. Lydon, Ph.D., and Charles Sawyers, M.D., shared the 2009 award for their work on chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Before they developed their new drug, the average life expectancy for CML patients was three to five years; now, the five-year survival rate is almost 90 percent.

    2009 Nobel Prize Winners

    • Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Ph.D., Carol W. Greider, Ph.D., and Jack W. Szostak, Ph.D., won the 2009 Nobel Prize for their work with telomeres, the caps on the ends of chromosomes. Telomere function is similar to the plastic tips on shoelaces that keep them from fraying. The associated enzyme telomerase helps maintain telomere integrity and spurs cancer cells to multiply without restraint. Research is underway for a cancer drug that blocks the effects of telomerase, which would cause tumor cells to stop dividing and die.

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