Sarcoma Foundation of America Honors

Dr. Robert S. Benjamin with

2008 Nobility in Science Award

SARCOMA FOUNDATION OF AMERICA

9884 Main Street / P.O. Box 458

Damascus, MD

www.curesarcoma.org

Contact: Matthew Alsante

301-253-8687

malsante@curesarcoma.org 

Maryland (March 9, 2008) — The Sarcoma Foundation of America, an organization dedicated to increased research funding and advocacy for sarcoma, has named Robert S. Benjamin, M.D. as the recipient of its 2008 Nobility in Science Award.

Dr. Benjamin is professor and chair of the Department of Sarcoma Medical Oncology at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. He also holds the P.H. and Fay E. Robinson Distinguished Professorship in Cancer Research at M. D. Anderson where he joined the faculty in 1974.

"The Nobility in Science Award is a high honor by the SFA to acknowledge the extraordinary manner in which a sarcoma doctor has dedicated his or her career to improve the lives and lifespans of patients afflicted with sarcoma, while at the same time making invaluable contributions to the scientific understanding of this vexing disease,” said Mark Thornton, M.D., Ph.D., President, Sarcoma Foundation of America. “Dr. Benjamin has spent most of his long and illustrious career caring for thousands of sarcoma patients.  He is one of the most beloved physicians in our sarcoma community.”

Dr. Benjamin was born in 1943 in the Brooklyn, New York. His father, a pediatrician, and his mother, a biochemist, instilled in their son not only a love of science and medicine but a strong sense of compassion and advocacy for patients.  He earned his medical degree from New York University School of Medicine and did his postgraduate training at Bellevue Medical Center.  He was a fellow and senior clinical associate at Baltimore Cancer Research Center, at that time affiliated with the National Cancer Institute.  He spent one year at the University of Southern California prior to joining M. D. Anderson.

Under Dr. Benjamin, the Sarcoma Center at M. D. Anderson has become one of the premier treatment and research centers in the nation dedicated solely to the management of soft-tissue and bone tumors. His team at the Sarcoma Center offers a multidisciplinary approach to the disease, providing the expertise of medical, surgical and radiation oncologists as well as pathologists and rehabilitation therapists for the benefit of each patient.

Dr. Benjamin has led groundbreaking research that has become standard treatment in the care of sarcomas and many other cancers, including multimodality treatment of soft-tissue sarcoma.  He pioneered continuous infusion of Adriamycin and demonstrated its decreased cardiac toxicity, combination chemotherapy as a limb salvage regimen and the use of metal prostheses to replace diseased bones.  He was an active participant in the national Phase III trial for Gleevec for the treatment of Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors (GIST), enrolling the largest group of patients. From that experience, he helped define improved criteria for evaluating the benefit of treatment.  Dr. Benjamin is active with M. D. Anderson’s Phase I Clinical Trials Program at M. D. Anderson, exploring a wide range of new anti-cancer agents and approaches. He is among the most prolific writers at M. D. Anderson, authoring more than 300 scientific articles.

 Dr. Benjamin will be presented the Nobility in Science Award at the Annual Gala of the SFA, which will take place on May 5, 2008 in New York City.  Prominent sarcoma physician and Chair of the Southwest Oncology Group Dr. Laurence Baker, Dr. Benjamin’s long-time colleague, and previous recipient of this award, will present the award to his friend Dr. Benjamin.

About the Sarcoma Foundation of America

The Sarcoma Foundation of America (SFA) is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit charitable organization, is an advocate for increased research to find new and better therapies with which to treat patients with sarcoma.  SFA raises its own funds to provide research grants to sarcoma researchers.  SFA also interacts with public, private for-profit, and private non-profit organizations to raise awareness of the treatment needs of sarcoma patients. For more information, please visit www.curesarcoma.org.