I have devoted my career to caring for patients with head and neck tumors. My clinical interests include precancerous lesions, cancer of the mouth, throat, neck, and larynx, melanoma and other skin cancers, salivary tumors, thyroid cancer, and cancers of the sinuses and skull base. My goal is to provide patients with advanced surgical care for head and neck cancer with an emphasis on quality-of-life issues, such as retaining a patient’s ability to speak and swallow and maintaining normal appearance. Many surgical procedures for head and neck cancer that have been developed at Memorial Sloan-Kettering help to preserve organ function and facial appearance to a far greater degree than was once possible. I also work closely with plastic surgeons, radiation therapists, chemotherapists, nurses, and speech therapists to create individualized treatment plans that keep the cure of cancer as the main goal.
My research has lead to an improved understanding of the genetic steps involved in cancer formation. My collaborators and I are studying the process by which tobacco use leads to cancer, in an effort to find ways to stop or reverse this process. We have also identified new targets for the prevention and treatment of cancer. I am currently leading a clinical trial at Memorial Sloan-Kettering that evaluates a COX-2 inhibitor for the treatment of precancerous leukoplakia in the mouth and throat. COX-2 is an enzyme that has been linked to inflammation and tumor formation and growth.
