Larry Norton Honored with David A. Karnofsky Award
May 26, 2004
NEW YORK - Larry Norton, MD, Deputy Physician-in-Chief for Breast Cancer Programs at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, is the recipient of the 2004 David A. Karnofsky Memorial Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). Every year, ASCO presents the award, its highest scientific honor, to a researcher who has changed the way clinical oncologists think about the general practice of clinical oncology. The award is named for Dr. Karnofsky, MD, who was a pioneer in chemotherapy at Memorial Sloan-Kettering.
Dr. Norton was recognized for leading a series of theoretical, experimental, and clinical studies that established a new approach to the treatment of cancer with drugs, using the particular example of adjuvant systemic therapy for breast cancer.
"I see this award as an acknowledgment of the extraordinary contributions of the many colleagues with whom I have been honored to work over the past three decades," Dr. Norton said. "It is truly thrilling to see the translation of theoretical work into successful laboratory studies, innovative clinical trials, and now improved clinical results."
"ASCO is proud to honor Dr. Norton with the David A. Karnofsky Memorial Award," said ASCO's Executive Vice President, Charles M. Balch, MD, "recognizing his parallel accomplishments as a leader of both ASCO and MSKCC, and his pioneering work that has been instrumental in improving the treatment and prevention of breast cancer. It is particularly fitting to honor Dr. Norton with this award since Dr. Karnofsky also served as a revered leader of both organizations."
Dr. Norton is the co-developer of the Norton-Simon Hypothesis, which explores how the growth characteristics of cancers affect their responses to therapy, explaining differences between human cancers and experimental tumors in the laboratory in this regard. He was also a pioneer, with colleagues at MSKCC, in the development of an approach to therapy called "dose density." This plan of treatment, based on a mathematical model, maximizes the killing of cancer cells while minimizing toxicity.
"Our work has shown that mathematical modeling can lead to better treatments. But what are the biological and molecular bases for the patterns of growth that we have observed and that we used to design our successful studies? That is the key question now as we participate in the revolution in thought and practice that is known as modern molecular oncology," Dr. Norton said.
Dr. Norton, the Norna S. Sarofim Chair in Clinical Oncology, received his MD degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, did residencies at Bronx Municipal Hospital Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and a fellowship at the National Cancer Institute. He is board certified in internal medicine and medical oncology. He has served leadership positions in several national cancer-related organizations, including serving as President of ASCO in 2001-2002, and is Chairman of the Board of Directors of the ASCO Foundation.
On June 5, Dr. Norton will deliver the Karnofsky Lecture at the inaugural session of ASCO's annual meeting. His lecture will focus on the history of the development of his ideas, including his ongoing work in looking for new targets for therapy, new prediction tools, and new approaches to breast cancer prevention.
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