The Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation Honors Leading Lung Cancer Oncologist with the 2014 Addario Lectureship Award

SAN CARLOS, Calif., Aug. 1, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation (ALCF) will honor Roy S. Herbst, Ensign Professor of Medicine and Chief of Medical Oncology at Yale Cancer Center, with the 2014 Addario Lectureship Award for his continued leadership and expertise in lung cancer treatment and research. Dr. Herbst of Yale Cancer Center will receive the award at the 15^th International Lung Cancer Congress being held on July 31 – Aug. 2 in Huntington Beach, California.

"Dr. Herbst's contribution and dedication to lung cancer treatment and research is truly remarkable and we are thrilled to present him with the Addario Lectureship Award this year," said Bonnie J. Addario, lung cancer survivor and founder of the ALCF.

Each year the ALCF recognizes one special leader who is making great strides to eradicate lung cancer and fight for the lives affected by this disease. According to the American Cancer Society, more than 228,000 people in the United States will be diagnosed this year with lung cancer, and nearly 160,000 lung cancer patients will die – a fact that cannot go unnoticed.

Dr. Herbst is internationally recognized for his work developing personalized therapy for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer– namely the process of linking genetic abnormalities of cancer cells to novel therapies. In 2011, Dr. Herbst co-led a groundbreaking trial at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center called BATTLE-1 (Biomarker-based Approaches of Targeted Therapy for Lung Cancer Elimination). This trial was one of the first to use fresh tissue and adaptive randomization to identify the best drug to treat patients for refractory non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In the beginning of 2012, Dr. Herbst became the co-principal investigator of a second trial, BATTLE-2, which focuses on targeting KRAS genes. The trial is currently open at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas and Yale Cancer Center in New Haven, Connecticut.  

These trials led to the development of the Lung Cancer Master Protocol (Lung-MAP), a first-of-its-kind clinical trial that uses a multi-drug, targeted screening approach to match patients with promising new treatments based on their unique tumor profiles. The clinical trial is for patients with advanced squamous cell lung cancer. Dr. Herbst is co-chair of the Lung-MAP oversight committee and chair of the drug selection committee.  

"The stagnant 16 percent five-year survival rate for lung cancer must change," Addario said. "And Dr. Herbst is one of the brilliant minds leading the charge."

Dr. Herbst is a member of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), where he chairs the Tobacco Task Force, as well as the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the Institute of Medicine's National Cancer Policy Forum. He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians. He is also a vice chair of the Southwest Oncology Group's lung committee, a member of the medical advisory committee for the Lung Cancer Research Foundation and chair of the communications committee for the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer. He has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed papers and has current grant funding for his work from numerous sources including the National Cancer Institute, AACR and multiple charitable foundations.

Past Addario Lectureship Award recipients include:

• 2013 Recipient: Tony Mok, M.D., Professor in the Department of Clinical Oncology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in Prince of Wales Hospital in Hong Kong
• 2012 Recipient: D. Ross Camidge, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the Thoracic Oncology Clinical Program and Associate Director for Clinical Research, Colorado University Cancer Center
• 2011 Recipient: William Pao, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Medicine, Ingram Associate Professor of Cancer Research, Director, Personalized Cancer Medicine, Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center
• 2010 Recipient: David R. Gandara, M.D., Associate Director, Clinical Research, UC Davis Cancer Center
• 2009 Recipient: Harvey Pass, M.D., B.A., Director of the Division of Thoracic Surgery and Chief of Thoracic Surgery, New York University Medical Center
• 2008 Recipient: Paul A. Bunn, Jr. M.D., Principal Investigator and Director, University of Colorado Cancer Center

The ALCF has supported the Lung Cancer Congress for the past seven years and serves as a co-sponsor along with the IASLC. The annual three-day event provides physicians with practical information regarding the clinical implications of lung cancer screening, the latest clinical data impacting the treatment of lung cancer, and novel agents and strategies that are changing the future of lung cancer therapy.

"We are proud of our continued partnership with the International Lung Cancer Congress because it provides a place for people to listen and think differently about how to treat lung cancer," Addario said. "And more importantly, they value the patient in that process."

About the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation
The Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation (ALCF) is one of the largest philanthropies (patient-founded, patient-focused, and patient-driven) devoted exclusively to eradicating Lung Cancer through research, early detection, education, and treatment. The Foundation works with a diverse group of physicians, organizations, industry partners, individuals, survivors, and their families to identify solutions and make timely and meaningful change. The ALCF was established on March 1, 2006 as a 501c(3) non-profit organization and has raised more than $10 million for lung cancer research.

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SOURCE Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation