Ira J. Dunkel, MD

In my clinical research on brain tumors, my colleagues and I are seeking to develop more-effective therapies with fewer and less severe side effects. Much of this work involves clinical trials to evaluate new drugs for difficult to treat tumors, such as diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, glioblastoma, recurrent medulloblastoma, and recurrent ependymoma.

I am also working to develop new treatments for retinoblastoma. These include the use of intensive therapy for children whose retinoblastoma has spread outside the eye and local chemotherapy for those with advanced cancer within the eye.

Nationally, I am chair of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium, a National Cancer Institute–sponsored clinical trials group. I am a member of the Children’s Oncology Group’s Rare Tumors (Retinoblastoma) Committee and Brain Tumor Committee, and I serve as the principal investigator for national clinical trials addressing these tumors. I am also a member of the National Cancer Institute’s Brain Malignancy Steering Committee and a special government employee for the US Food and Drug Administration’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee.

In addition to patient care and research, I work closely with young doctors who are training in pediatric oncology to help them learn how best to identify the individual needs of patients and to care for children with cancer.

It is very rewarding to work with patients and their families. I tailor their care to their needs and explain the treatment options to them their treatment options, guiding them in complex decision-making or exploring various alternatives. At MSK, our goal is to cure the cancer while leaving the patient with as normal a life as possible.