2007
Trial Supports Use of Marker to Predict How Pancreatic Cancer Patients Do After Surgery, Jefferson Surgeon Finds
(Published 6-22-2007) A team of researchers, led by surgeons at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson in Philadelphia, has
found further evidence supporting the ability of a protein to predict how well a patient with advanced pancreatic cancer will
do after surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. The levels of the protein CA 19-9 in the blood can be used to determine the
need for further therapy, they say.
Jefferson Scientist Awarded Prestigious ACS Grant to Study Use of Blood Pressure Drugs Against Cancer
(Published 6-6-2007) In 2006, researcher Hwyda Arafat, M.D., Ph.D., reported that common blood pressure medications might
help block the spread of pancreatic cancer. Now, Dr. Arafat, assistant professor of surgery at Jefferson Medical College of
Thomas Jefferson University and at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson in Philadelphia, has been awarded a prestigious Research
Scholar Grant from the American Cancer Society (ACS) to continue that work.
Pancreatic Surgery Riskier for Obese Patients, Jefferson Surgeon Finds
(Published 5-30-2007) Obesity may contribute to a greater likelihood of post-operative complications for patients having
pancreatic surgery, a surgeon at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital has found.
Congratulations to Our 'Top Doctors'
Three Jefferson Surgeons are featured in the May 2007 Issue of Philadelphia Magazine's annual listing of "Top Docs":
Jefferson Vascular Surgeon Joseph V. Lombardi, M.D. Honored by Associazione Regionale Siciliana for Medical Accomplishments
as Italian American
(Published 4-26-2007) Vascular Surgeon Joseph V. Lombardi, M.D., Founder and Director of the new Aortic Center at Thomas
Jefferson University Hospital, was recently honored by the Associazione Regionale Siciliana of the Delaware Valley at their
15th annual dinner dance for his accomplishments in the field of vascular surgery.
Surgeons at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital are First in Pennsylvania to Implant Jarvik 2000 Heart Assist System in Heart
Failure Patient
(Published 3-23-2007) On Monday morning, March 19, cardiac surgeons Scott Silvestry, M.D. and Linda Bogar, M.D. at Thomas
Jefferson University Hospital opened the chest of a 55-year-old man suffering from chronic heart failure and implanted a Jarvik
2000 Heart Assist System to save his life. The Advanced Heart Failure and Cardiac Transplant team at Jefferson University
Hospital is the first in the state to implant the new device.
PA Breast Cancer Coalition to Give Awards to Scientists at Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson
(Published 3-22-2007) The Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition (PBCC) will recognize three researchers from the Kimmel Cancer
Center at Jefferson who have been selected to receive grants through the Income Tax Check-Off for breast cancer research.
Chemotherapy Resistance Testing Needs to Be Studied, Jefferson Lung Cancer Surgeon Contends
(Published 3-16-2007) A study led by a lung cancer surgeon at Jefferson Medical College suggests that oncologists should take
more advantage of laboratory tests that have the potential to help determine a lung cancer patient’s resistance to chemotherapy
drugs. All too often, patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are given standard chemotherapy drugs after surgery
in a “hit or miss” fashion, without doctors knowing which drugs might have better chances than others to help treat the tumor.
Steps should be taken to validate such resistance tests in clinical trials.
New Books Give Advice on How to Avoid Medical Mistakes
(Published: 03/02/2007, KYW Newsradio) A surgeon from Thomas Jefferson University Hospital is out with two books that you
may not read, but which just might save your life.
Getting sick is bad for your health and sometimes medical mistakes make things worse. Dr. Lisa Marcucci knows full-well from
her own work in surgery that success is not just keeping your eye on the ball, but hundreds of them.
Media Coverage:
KYW Newsradio 1060AM
Maurizio Iaria, MD, Clinical Fellow in the Division of Transplant Surgery was awarded the Young Investigator Award at the 2006 World Transplant Congress held in Boston, MA. The award was granted
for his abstract, Zero Antigen Mismatched Cadaveric Kidney Grafts in Diabetics Lack the Survival Advantage Seen In Nondiabetics.
Dr. Iaria and Adam Frank, MD, Assistant Professor in the Division of Transplant Surgery, performed an extensive analysis of the UNOS database of kidney
and kidney/pancreas transplants performed between 1992 and 2003 in the United States.The study showed that zero-mismatched
grafts have no significant survival advantage in diabetics, especially in Type 1 diabetics. The authors suggest that different
allocation strategies should be considered for diabetics rather than obligatory national sharing of zero-mismatched kidneys.
New Aortic Center at Jefferson Provides Most Advanced Technologies for Treatment of Aortic Aneurysms
(Published 1-23-2007) Thomas Jefferson University Hospital has opened a new center that will provide patients access to the
most advanced technologies available in the treatment of aortic aneurysms, dissections and other maladies anywhere in the
body.
Pancreatic Cancer Surgery Five-Year Survivors 65 and Up Live Nearly as Long As Anyone
(Published 1-5-2007) A new study shows that pancreatic cancer patients 65 or older who live at least five years after surgery
have nearly as good a chance as anyone else to live another five years.
Jefferson Chair of Surgery Honored by Hellenic Medical Society of New York
(Published 12-21-2006) Charles J. Yeo, M.D., Samuel D. Gross Professor and Chair of Surgery at Jefferson Medical College
of Thomas Jefferson University, recently received the 2006 Distinguished Physician Award from the Hellenic Medical Society
of New York.
Jefferson Chair of Surgery’s Latest Book Considered Essential Medical Reference
(Published 12-14-2006) Charles J.Yeo, M.D., Samuel D. Gross Professor and Chair of Surgery at Jefferson Medical College of
Thomas Jefferson University, has authored the latest (sixth) edition of Shackelford’s Surgery of the Alimentary Tract, considered
to be an essential reference for general surgeons, surgical residents and gastroenterologists, with a special focus on alimentary
tract diseases.
Featured in the Media
Fat tissue of older adults appears to be good source for stem cells
(Published 12-18-06, Forbes.com) A group of researchers found that the fat tissue of older adults appears to be a good source
for stem cells.
"A major problem with any type of cell for tissue engineering is you want to get a reliable source of cells," said Dr. Paul
DiMuzio, an assistant professor of surgery at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. "They can be used from bone marrow
but this source tends to decrease with age, making it a limited source of cells in the exact population you need the cells
for."
Media Coverage:
Forbes.com
Doctor's Guide
Pancreatic Cancer Researcher Jonathan Robert Brody, Ph.D., Joins Surgery Department at Jefferson
(Published 12-11-2006) Pancreatic cancer researcher Jonathan Robert Brody, Ph.D., has joined the Department of Surgery at
Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University as assistant professor of surgery.
Blood Pressure Drugs Could Help Halt Pancreatic Cancer Spread, Jefferson Researchers Find
(Published 12-8-2006) Common blood pressure medications might help block the spread of pancreatic cancer, researchers at
the Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia have found. The scientists showed in laboratory studies
that two types of pressure-lowering drugs – ACE inhibitors and AT1R blockers – may help reduce the development of tumor-feeding
blood vessels, a process called angiogenesis. Such drugs, they say, may become part of a novel strategy to control the growth
and spread of cancer.
Francis E. Rosato, 72, pioneering Jefferson surgeon and teacher
(Published 10-24-06, Philadelphia Inquirer) Francis E. Rosato, 72, chairman of surgery at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
who performed the region's first liver transplant in 1984, died of blood cancer Wednesday at home in Gladwyne.
"Known as a surgeon's surgeon, Frank was revered by the more than 300 surgeons he trained. They often asked his advice in
difficult surgical procedures years after leaving Jefferson," said James W. Fox IV, professor and chief of reconstructive
surgery at Jefferson.
Department of Surgery - Remembering Dr. Rosato
Media Coverage:
Philadelphia Inquirer
Inflammatory Breast Cancer
(Published 10-17-06) There is new concerns about a form of cancer very few people have ever heard of: inflammatory breast
cancer. Inflammatory breast cancer doesn't usually have a lump that we're used to seeing. It's findings are so subtle on a
mammogram it may be difficult to see. Jefferson Breast surgeon Anne Rosenberg, M.D., says this cancer involves the lymphatic
system.
"The cancer cells are involving the lymphatics of the skin of the breast. And this causes the skin to look different," Rosenberg
says.
Department of Surgery
BreastCARE at Jefferson
Media Coverage:
NBC10
Breast Cancer And Inflammatory Breast Cancer Updates
(Published 10-17-06) There is new concerns about a form of cancer very few people have ever heard of: inflammatory breast
cancer.
Inflammatory breast cancer doesn't usually have a lump like this that we're used to seeing. It's findings are so subtle on
a mammogram it may be difficult to see. Jefferson Breast surgeon Anne Rosenberg, M.D., says this cancer involves the lymphatic
system.
"The cancer cells are involving the lymphatics of the skin of the breast. And this causes the skin to look different," Rosenberg
says.
CancerCARE at Jefferson
Jefferson to Re-Broadcast Breast Reconstruction Surgical Webcast for Breast Cancer Awareness Month
(Published 10-2-2007) As part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital is re-airing
its webcast on one of the most often performed breast reconstruction surgical procedures, using muscle tissue from a patient's
back. The webcast, featuring Jefferson breast cancer surgeons performing immediate breast reconstruction after mastectomy,
can be seen at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 18, at www.jeffersonhospital.org/webcast
Whipple Webcast at Jefferson Highlights Innovative Surgical Treatment for Pancreatic Cancer
(Published 8-27-2007) Thomas Jefferson University Hospital this will host a webcast featuring a mini-Whipple procedure (pylorus
preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy) used to treat pancreatic cancer. The webcast, which will feature an actual procedure and
panel discussion by the Jefferson Pancreatic Cancer and Related Diseases Team, is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, September
18, at www.JeffersonHospital.org/webcast.
Jefferson Scientist’s Patent Dramatically Improves DNA Analysis
(Published 7-16-2007) A basic scientist in the Department of Surgery at Jefferson Medical College and the Kimmel Cancer Center
at Jefferson has shared a patent on what may someday be a ubiquitous tool in DNA analysis. The discovery could have a range
of applications, from forensics to cloning to bioterrorism.
Jefferson Surgery Chair Co-Authors Pancreatic Cancer Guide for Patients and Caregivers
(Published 10-4-2007) A new guide on pancreatic cancer, co-authored by the chair of Surgery at Thomas Jefferson University
Hospital, offers a better understanding to patients and caregivers of the unique challenges associated with a diagnosis of
pancreatic cancer.
