Center honors bone-marrow transplant pioneer

Photo by Guy Kramer From left, Dr. Dean Buckner, Dr. Beverly Torok-Storb, Tanya Chiatovich, Dr. Fred Appelbaum and Dr. Paul Martin pay tribute to guests of honor Dr. Don and Dottie Thomas.

Fifty years ago, on Sept. 12, 1957, the New England Journal of Medicine published Dr. E. Donnall Thomas’ report on a radical new approach to the treatment of cancer: radiation and chemotherapy followed by the intravenous infusion of bone marrow. After more than a decade of difficult clinical trials and criticism, Thomas’ approach ushered in a new lifesaving era for cancer treatment.

Wednesday, Sept. 12, the Center celebrated Thomas, his wife and longtime research partner Dottie, and the pioneering work that in 1990 earned Thomas the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine. In his introduction, Dr. Fred Appelbaum, senior vice president and director of the Clinical Research Division, said Thomas’ “seminal experiment marked the beginning of a long road that led to the current practice of hematopoietic-cell transplantation, which this year will be used to treat more than 50,000 people worldwide.”

Among tributes given by Clinical Research Division members from the early transplant team, Dr. Paul Martin characterized three traits the Thomases have shown over the years—“vision, perseverance and tenacity, often in the face of extreme adversity.” Dr. Jean Sanders, medical director of pediatric transplants, talked about the honor of experiencing so many firsts alongside Thomas, and thanked him for having the “courage to go where no man had gone before.” Dr. Alex Fefer said that, in terms of conventional wisdom of the day, what Thomas had to overcome was “absolutely phenomenal.” In closing, he offered words of gratitude for Thomas’ persistence, vision and for “being right.”

Pictures of the Thomas event will soon be available online. Watch for the link in an upcoming issue of Center News Weekly.

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