Michael P. La Quaglia, MD, FACS, FRCS

I am proud to be part of a team that performs more pediatric cancer surgeries than any other institution in the world; more than 500 procedures each year, in patients as young as newborn to young adults. We have special expertise in performing large, complicated surgeries, with exceptional experience in surgery for neuroblastoma and desmoplastic small round cell tumors as well as complex liver surgery and thyroid surgery.

Whenever possible, my colleagues and I apply minimally invasive surgical approaches, such as thoracoscopy and laparoscopy, to the treatment of childhood cancers. These approaches help speed the recovery of our patients and their return to their normal activities.

In my research, I am collaborating with my colleagues to assess a class of drugs called histone deacetylase inhibitors as anticancer agents. These novel drugs work against cancer by turning off an enzyme the cancers need to grow. I have studied the mechanisms by which cancers metastasize (spread), and I am working with other investigators to study the role of angiogenesis — the development of blood vessels tumors need — in this process. Since metastasis is what ultimately causes patients to succumb to cancer, learning how to halt this process will be enormously beneficial.

I also lead clinical trials, such as one assessing radioimmunotherapy for desmoplastic small round cell tumors. My work supports the banking of tumor tissue, particularly for neuroblastoma and sarcoma — the study of which can benefit future patients with cancer. I also teach and mentor surgical fellows and residents.

Nationally, I serve as Chairperson of the Surgical Committee of the Children’s Oncology Group. I am a member and past chairman of the Pediatric Surgical Association Cancer Committee. I have received the Willet F. Whitmore Award for Clinical Excellence from Memorial Sloan Kettering and am a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh. I hold the Joseph H. Burchenal Chair in Pediatrics, which is named for an esteemed pioneer in the treatment of cancer in children. The National Cancer Institute also gave me an award for my work on the Pediatric Physician Data Query (PDQ) information summaries, which provide up-to-date cancer information for healthcare professionals and parents/patients.

My greatest satisfaction, however, comes from working with children. I enjoy my interactions with them tremendously and find them extremely rewarding. I feel immensely grateful to be able to help someone get better, especially when I can do something that others say they cannot. When your child is with me in the operating room, you can be assured that I will treat him or her as my own.