The following interview was conducted over the phone with Dr Caligiuri,
director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center and
CEO of the James Cancer Hospital.
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| Frank Epitropoulos (left with Dr. Caligiuri (right) |
Frank: What motivated you to
go into medicine?
Dr.Caligiuri: “I had a neighbor that I was close to that motivated me to
become a physician”
Frank: What do you like most
about being a physician?
Dr.Caligiuri: “You can help people who are suffering to get better using compassion
and understanding”
Frank: Why is there no cure
for cancer with today’s technology?
Dr.Caligiuri: “Cancer is not just one disease, it’s over a thousand
diseases. We have cured certain cancers,
but not others. They all have different
causes each requiring different treatments”
Frank: What are your
thoughts on stem cell research?
Dr.Caligiuri: "There are many types of stem cells including those that come
from human embryos and some that come from you and me or adult stem cells. The most controversial is embryonic stem
cells and and has been a topic of debate.
You are using tissues from aborted fetuses to perform research that will
help living people do better. It comes
down to how our democratic society feels about it. Whether the harm to fetus potentially
outweighs the benefit of treating chronic illnesses of which people
suffer. It’s not a black and white
issue, it’s many shades of grey, similar to the abortion issue. Some people think it should be legal others
feel it shouldn’t be. This is a
controversial issue, we should think about it carefully and weigh the risks and
benefits carefully and do what the majority of people want to happen. Certainly I don’t think anyone should be
forced to do embryonic research, but if the majority of people think that this
option should be available, I would not
be in the way."
Frank: What strides are we
taking to find a cure for cancer?
Dr.Caligiuri: "The main thing is prevention. We know that smoking causes lung cancer an
the sun causes skin cancer. If we know
to avoid overexposure to UV rays by wearing sunscreen and avoid exposure to
cigarette smoke we have won half the battle."
Frank: What’s been the most
exciting advancement in cancer research over the past 10 years?
Dr.Caligiuri: "We’ve been able to figure out how to sequent the human
genome. This allows us to personalize
treatments for each individual’s genes and DNA, which allows us to customize the treatment for the patient."
Frank: Where do you think we
will be in cancer research 10 years from now?
Dr.Caligiuri: "I think we will be looking at the DNA of every individual’s
tumor and deciding on individual therapy for people with cancer as opposed to
one therapy for example, lung cancer. There will
probably be 9-10 different therapies for lung cancer depending on what your
DNA shows for your cancer, this is called ‘personalized medicine’. At the same time, I think we’ll be looking at
the DNA of normal people and will be able to decide who is more susceptible to
developing skin, lung, or colon cancer and make sure they get more screening
earlier."
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