UPCI to Present Jeffrey Shogan Memorial Symposium on Anticancer Therapies May 5

The University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) will present the “Jeffrey Shogan Memorial Symposium: Toward Personalized Anticancer Therapy” from 11 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. May 5 in the Herberman Conference Center, UPMC Cancer Pavilion, UPMC Shadyside, 5150 Centre Ave., Shadyside.

The event is the third and final UPCI symposium held to mark the institute’s 25th anniversary. Shogan (MED ’82), who died in 2010 at age 56, was a clinical professor of medicine in Pitt’s School of Medicine and the director of business services and chief business officer for UPMC Cancer Centers.

The symposium, which is free of charge, will present the latest information on the implications of individualizing cancer care regimens based on a variety of molecular and genetic predictive markers in several malignancies. Included topics are: non-small cell lung, colon, breast, head and neck, and prostate cancer, as well as melanoma and acute myeloid leukemia.

The symposium is designed for physicians in oncology, hematology, radiation therapy, surgery, and internal medicine and for members of cancer care teams, including nurses, pharmacists, and social workers.

Preregistration is required and forms are available by contacting Karen Tondera at 412-623-3652 or tonderaks@upmc.edu. Additional information about continuing education credits and the symposium are available at www.upci.upmc.edu/symposia.

Adam Brufsky will make introductory remarks, followed by Stanley Marks, who will present recollections of Shogun. Both Brufsky and Marks are clinical professors of medicine in the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

The “Lockhart Nimick Memorial Oncology Lecture: Pharmacogenomics in Colon Cancer” will be delivered by Heinz-Josef Lenz, a professor of medicine and preventative medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of South California, Los Angeles.

The remaining topics and presenters follow:

• “Personalized Therapy for Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer,” Roy S. Herbst, Yale University School of Medicine;

•  “Dawn of Effective Specific Therapy for Melanoma: Growing Options for Personalized Molecular, Immunological, and Cytotoxic Therapy,” John M. Kirkwood, professor of medicine, dermatology, and translational science, Pitt School of Medicine;

• “Implications of Breast Cancer and Heterogeneity,” Lisa A. Carey, professor of medicine, University of North Carolina School of Medicine;

• “Treatment of Acute Myeloid Leukemia in a Genomic Era: Classification and Novel Strategies,” Martin S. Tallman, professor of medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York City;

• “Individualized Therapy for Head and Neck Cancer,” Jennifer Rubin Grandis, professor of otolaryngology and pharmacology, Pitt School of Medicine; and

• “The Changing Landscape of Prostate Cancer,” Phillip Kantoff, professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School.

Established in 1985, UPCI received its designation as an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center in 1989 and has retained this distinction since then. UPCI is the only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center in Western Pennsylvania.