Vincent T. DeVita, Jr., MD Honored by ASCO

Dr. Vincent T. DeVita, Jr., the Amy and Joseph Perella Professor of Medicine at Yale Cancer Center, was presented with a Statesman Award by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) at their annual meeting in Chicago, Illinois. The award pays tribute to ASCO members whose significant contributions and volunteer efforts have contributed to the betterment of the society. This year, the award gives special recognition to outstanding past achievement.

Dr. Vincent T. DeVita, Jr., the Amy and Joseph Perella Professor of Medicine at Yale Cancer Center, was presented with a Statesman Award by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) at their annual meeting in Chicago, Illinois.  The award pays tribute to ASCO members whose significant contributions and volunteer efforts have contributed to the betterment of the society. This year, the award gives special recognition to outstanding past achievement.

Director of Yale Cancer Center from 1993 to July 2003, Dr. DeVita currently serves as Chairman of the Yale Cancer Center Advisory Board and is a Professor of Internal Medicine and Epidemiology and Public Health.  Dr. DeVita spent the early part of his career at the National Cancer Institute (NCI).  In 1980, the President of the United States appointed him as Director of the NCI and the National Cancer Program, a position he held until 1988.  Dr. DeVita currently serves on the editorial boards of numerous scientific journals and is the author or co-author of more than 450 scientific articles.  He is one of the three editors of Cancer: Principles and Practice of Oncology and serves as the Editor-in-Chief of The Cancer Journal.

Dr. DeVita has earned international recognition for his accomplishments as a pioneer in the field of oncology.  While at the NCI, he was instrumental in developing combination chemotherapy programs that ultimately led to an effective regimen of curative chemotherapy for Hodgkin’s disease and diffuse large cell lymphomas.  Along with colleagues at the NCI, he developed the four-drug combination, known by the acronym MOPP, which increased the cure-rate for patients with advanced Hodgkin’s disease from nearly zero to over 70 percent.  In addition, in collaboration with Dr. George Canellos, Dr. DeVita developed the combination chemotherapy CMF, which still remains a useful therapy for breast cancer.

Dr. DeVita earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the College of William and Mary in 1957.  He was awarded his MD degree with distinction from the George Washington University School of Medicine in 1961. 

Yale Cancer Center is one of a select network of 39 comprehensive cancer centers in the country designated by the National Cancer Institute and the only one in Southern New England.  Bringing together the resources of Yale-New Haven Hospital and the Yale University School of Medicine, its mission encompasses patient care, research, cancer prevention and control, community outreach, and education.  For more information on the Center, please go to www.yalecancercenter.org

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