Brian H. Kushner, MD

I feel privileged to work as part of a team that focuses only on neuroblastoma. We see more patients with neuroblastoma than any other institution. Each patient is extremely important to us — we draw inspiration from every one of them and their families. Our exposure to patients from across the United States and from other countries affords us an extraordinary amount of experience and knowledge that we draw on each time we meet a new patient. In addition, because we treat so many patients, we are able to study the results of our treatments constantly, with a view toward identifying changes we can make right away to further improve cure rates and avoid side effects. 

Our neuroblastoma team is dedicated to finding better treatments for this disease. One major effort is finding better ways to direct a patient’s own immune system to attack neuroblastoma. I am leading clinical trials assessing these new immunotherapies in patients with high-risk forms of this cancer.

We have also learned from the large number of patients we have cared for that in some cases, neuroblastoma disappears on its own. We are identifying factors that may predict which patients will experience such “spontaneous regression” and will be cured with little or no treatment.

I have covered the 26.2 miles of the New York City Marathon 15 times. I was on Fred’s Team, an organization of runners who raise funds to support cancer research at Memorial Sloan Kettering. During the most challenging parts of the marathon, I would picture in my mind the children and young adults we treat and how hard they fight for their lives, and I realized that what I was going through at those points in the race was nothing compared to what they endure. As we came to mile 17, on First Avenue in front of MSK, it was so exciting to high-five the patients and families who came out to watch us and to stop for a hug.