Gastrointestinal Cancer Prevention and Treatment Center

Cancers of the gastrointestinal tract, including cancers of the esophagus, stomach, liver, pancreas, colon and rectum are common.  Prevention, early diagnosis and appropriate treatment require sophisticated knowledge, and patients with these diseases benefit from input from a team of multiple specialists including oncologists, surgeons, radiologists, and pathologists.  If a cancer is diagnosed, the Gastrointestinal Cancer Prevention and Treatment Center coordinates care with the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute.  Treatment, if necessary, reflects multi-disciplinary collaboration and utilizes minimally invasive treatment options including endoscopic resection, ablative therapies and laparoscopic surgery. 

Physician-Scientists from this center continue to lead pioneering studies in cancer screening, cancer control and prevention.  The featured Division research study is Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial, which studies the effectiveness of cancer screening tests, and which is one of the largest trials in the world, having randomized nearly 155,000 men and women ages 55 to 74.  The Dr. Robert Schoen [link], Center director, chairs the Colon Organ Site Committee for this study and coordinates all of the study’s colon projects.

Gastrointestinal Cancer Prevention and Treatment Center team members include:

• Robert E. Schoen, MD MPH – Director, Gastrointestinal Cancer Prevention and Treatment Center
• David C. Whitcomb, MD PhD
• James B. McGee, MD
• Adam Slivka, MD PhD
• Asif Khalid, MD
• Kevin McGrath, MD
• Michael Sanders, MD
• Randall Brand, MD
• Georgios Papachristou, MD
• Lynda Dzubinski, RN – Nurse Research Coordinator
• Karen Foley, RN, BSN – Nurse Research Coordinator
• Larette Castleberry, RN – Nurse Research Coordinator