New Suite for a New Era in the Treatment of Gastrointestinal Cancers

On October 18, 2011, a reception was held to celebrate the opening of a newly renovated suite for the treatment of gastrointestinal cancers. Located on Floor 12 of the Weill Greenberg Ambulatory Building, 1305 York Avenue, the stunningly attractive facilities represent state-of-the-art patient care at its best. Individual treatment bays are equipped with flat screen televisions and provide sweeping views of York Avenue. Dr. David Nanus, co-Chief of the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, noted at the reception, “We wanted to ensure that this newly renovated facility, and especially the infusion bays, would be a comforting and reassuring place for our patients throughout their treatment. We knew we had the best in Dr. Joseph T. Ruggiero as Medical Director of the Division’s Solid Tumor Oncology Practice, so our clinical piece was always set,” explained Dr. Nanus.

“But, we had not yet found the research piece to the puzzle.” Following a national search, Dr. Manish A. Shah, a nationally recognized clinician-investigator, was recruited from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center to serve as Director of the new Gastrointestinal Oncology Program.

Dr. Shah is collaborating on a multidisciplinary basis with other divisions and departments within New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell in an effort to maximize the best treatment approaches for patients with gastrointestinal malignancies. Gastrointestinal cancers, as a group, are the most common in the United States and the world and include colon, esophagus, gastric, pancreas, and liver. Combined, they are double the rate of lung, breast and prostate.

“We are at the tip of the iceberg,” explained Dr. Shah. “We’re entering a new era of personalized medicine, where individuals will have very specific mutations identified, which may direct our treatment approach for a particular individual. Understanding the epidemiology and biology of GI cancers will allow us to design how aggressive we can be with treatment. We can weigh chemotherapy versus surgery and be able to tailor treatment for an individual patient. It will be much more than drugs, but involving an individual treatment algorithm. This is where the future of GI is going.”

Dr. Nanus welcomed faculty, colleagues, friends and family, and thanked all of the staff who participated in bringing the project to fruition. Dr. Andrew I. Schafer, Chairman of the Department of Medicine, said, “This new suite offers the highest level of technology and comfort combined in one location, for a new and more personalized era in the treatment of gastrointestinal cancers.”

Dr. Ruggiero is a graduate of Harvard University and received his MD from New York University, before completing his residency, chief residency, and a fellowship at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell.

Dr. Shah is a graduate of biomedical engineering, Johns Hopkins University, and received his MD from Harvard Medical School.

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