Renowned Medical Oncologists Lawrence and Cynthia Gail Leichman Join Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology

Newswise — NEW YORK, April 6, 2012 – Lawrence Leichman, MD, and Cynthia Gail Leichman, MD, have been appointed faculty members of the Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology at NYU Langone Medical Center. They will specialize in gastrointestinal cancers that include: esophageal, gastric, pancreatic, liver, bile duct, carcinoid or neuroendocrine tumors of the small bowel, colon cancer, rectal cancer and cancer of the anal canal. They will have offices at the medical center’s Clinical Cancer Center at 160 E. 34th Street.

“We are extremely excited to welcome Drs. Lawrence and Cynthia Gail Leichman to the NYU Langone Medical Center family,” said Andrew Brotman, MD, senior vice president, vice dean for clinical affairs and strategy, and chief clinical officer at NYU Langone. “The Leichmans are recognized leaders in the field of gastrointestinal malignancies and their clinical and research expertise in this area will continue to build on the world-class care our patients have already come to expect from us.”

Dr. Lawrence Leichman will serve as director, GI (Gastrointestinal) Malignancies in the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology. In this role he will focus on expanding the clinical and research areas of the Gastrointestinal Malignancies program. He most recently served as national director of Gastrointestinal Malignancies at Aptium Oncology and was affiliated with the Comprehensive Cancer Center at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, CA. He is a researcher and member of the National Cancer Institute’s Task Force for Esophageal and Gastric Cancer, as well as an active member of the CORE Science Solutions (CSS) GI Cancer Consortium. Dr. Leichman received his MD from Wayne State University School of Medicine in Michigan.

Dr. Cynthia Gail Leichman will be a member of the Gastrointestinal Malignancies team. Dr. Leichman was the medical director for Clinical Research at the Comprehensive Cancer Center at Desert Regional Medical Center, Palm Springs, CA, prior to joining NYU Langone. She served as a member of the Governing Board of Desert Regional Medical Center and is a member of the Intergroup Rectal Cancer Task Force and a member of the National Cancer Institute’s Task Force for Esophageal and Gastric Cancer. Dr. Leichman also received her MD from Wayne State University School of Medicine, Michigan.

The Leichmans join a seasoned team of gastrointestinal cancer experts who evaluate and treat patients at the Clinical Cancer Center (CCC), a collaborative, multidisciplinary outpatient setting. The CCC is the clinical arm of the medical center’s NYU Cancer Institute, an NCI-designated cancer center, where patients can have physician appointments, undergo diagnostic tests, learn the results of those tests, and receive a personalized treatment plan—all under the same roof. The clinicians at the CCC also collaborate with researchers conducting basic-science research related to gastrointestinal cancers, and use this research to develop novel treatment strategies which are evaluated in clinical trials.

About the NYU Cancer Institute The NYU Cancer Institute is a world leader in the care of patients with cancer. The NYU Clinical Cancer Center is the outpatient arm of the NYU Cancer Institute. At the Clinical Cancer Center, our world-renowned cancer specialists meet the needs of people with cancer in one convenient and comfortable facility. The mission of the NYU Cancer Institute is to discover the origins of human cancer and to use that knowledge to eradicate the personal and societal burden of cancer in our community, the nation and the world. The NYU Cancer Institute is an NCI-designated Cancer Center

About NYU Langone Medical CenterNYU Langone Medical Center, a world-class, patient-centered, integrated, academic medical center, is one on the nation’s premier centers for excellence in clinical care, biomedical research and medical education. Located in the heart of Manhattan, NYU Langone is composed of four hospitals – Tisch Hospital, its flagship acute care facility; the Hospital for Joint Diseases, one of only five hospitals in the nation dedicated to orthopaedics and rheumatology; Hassenfeld Pediatric Center, a comprehensive pediatric hospital supporting a full array of children’s health services; and the Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, the world’s first university-affiliated facility devoted entirely to rehabilitation medicine– plus NYU School of Medicine, which since 1841 has trained thousands of physicians and scientists who have helped to shape the course of medical history. The medical center’s tri-fold mission to serve, teach and discover is achieved 365 days a year through the seamless integration of a culture devoted to excellence in patient care, education and research. For more information, go to www.NYULMC.org.

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