FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 6, 2003
Contact: Karen Warmkessel kwarmkessel@umm.edu 410-328-8919
Ellen Beth Levitt eblevitt@umm.edu 410-328-8919

INTERNATIONALLY KNOWN LIVER CANCER SPECIALIST NAMED HEAD OF GI MEDICAL ONCOLOGY AT UM GREENEBAUM CANCER CENTER

Appointment signals commitment to enhance gastrointestinal cancer treatment program

Yehuda Z. Patt, M.D., F.A.C.P., an internationally recognized liver cancer specialist, has been appointed head of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology at the University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center and has joined the faculty of the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Dr. Patt comes to Baltimore from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, where he spearheaded the hepatobiliary cancer program in the Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology and Digestive Diseases and was a professor of medicine.

"We are delighted that Dr. Patt, an international leader in the treatment of primary and metastatic liver cancer and other gastrointestinal cancers, has joined our outstanding team of physicians and researchers," says Sanford A. Stass, M.D., the director of the University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center and a professor of pathology and medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. "His appointment underscores our commitment to developing a premier gastrointestinal and liver oncology program as part of our world-class cancer center."

Dr. Patt is recognized for his work involving the epidemiology, prevention and treatment of primary liver, bile duct and gallbladder cancers. He has published numerous articles on the use of hepatic arterial infusion (HAI) and systemic chemotherapy to treat primary liver cancer and cancer that has spread to the liver from the colon.

"I am truly excited about building a major clinical research program at the University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center. The expertise I have acquired at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center will be extremely valuable in launching a major clinical research program in Baltimore," Dr. Patt says.

"We already have an outstanding core group of oncologists and scientists here with expertise in basic molecular and genetic research in GI cancers," he continues. "We also have excellent liver surgeons. My goal is to launch one of the finest liver and GI research centers in the nation."

Dr. Patt graduated from Hebrew University and Hadassah Medical School in Jerusalem in 1965. After serving three years with the Israeli Defense Forces, he completed his residency in internal medicine at Tel Aviv University Medical School in Tel Aviv. He also performed research in immunology at the Weitzman Institute of Research in Rehovot, Israel.

In 1977, he completed a medical oncology fellowship at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, where he joined the Department of Developmental Therapeutics and later the Department of Clinical Immunology and Biological Therapy. He became chief of the Regional Therapy Service of the Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology and Digestive Diseases and launched the hepatobiliary cancer program in 1984.

Dr. Patt has lectured at professional conferences in this country and throughout the world and has published more than 100 articles in professional journals. He has led clinical trials of new treatments, including a four-drug chemotherapy combination to treat primary liver cancer and the use of agents such as thalidomide and capecitabine to treat liver cancer patients with underlying cirrhosis.

He is a member of the American Association for Cancer Research, the American College of Physicians, the American Medical Association, the American Society for Clinical Oncology, the Inter-American Society for Chemotherapy and the Royal Society of Medicine in London. He is board-certified in internal medicine and medical oncology.

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This page was last updated on: September 22, 2006.