David M. Jablons, M.D.

In the News

• Lung Cancer Systems Genetics Expands Map of Drug Discovery

  UCSF Thoracic Oncology Program and Laboratory, Kim Lab - Apr 19, 2013

  In the journal Nature Communications, lead author Il-Jin Kim, Ph.D., (pictured left) Director of Applied Genomics in the UCSF Thoracic Oncology Lab, Thoracic Oncology Program Leader, David M. Jablons, M.D., (pictured right) and others, demonstrate the value of mining vast gene expression networks to expand the pool of therapeutic targets in lung cancer. This could lead to the discovery of novel druggable targets specific to lung adenocarcinoma, sparing normal lung tissue, and to anti-cancer drugs with minimal side toxicity yet with high tumor killing efficacy.

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  Kim Lab

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• Decorative Arts Auction to Benefit Lung Cancer Research at UCSF

  UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, Christie's - Nov 14, 2012

  Click image to enlarge

  During Lung Cancer Awareness Month CHRISTIE'S will present a two part sale titled Property from The Vertical Art Collection: Walking Sticks, including a selection of canes from the associated art book Vertical Art: The Enduring Beauty Of Antique Canes And Walking Sticks. On November 26, 2012, in London, finely crafted canes by Fabergé will be offered in CHRISTIE'S Important Russian Art sale. On November 30, 2012, in New York, an additional 77 lots will be offered in a special section of CHRISTIE'S 500 Years Decorative Arts Europe sale. Impressively comprehensive, the Vertical Art Collection includes antique canes and walking sticks from varied materials ranging from jewels, exotic hardwoods, precious hardstones, historic figures and animals, classic Victorian canes, to a doctor's cane complete with medical instruments. For more information, and to view e-catalogues please visit: www.christies.com All proceeds will benefit the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation and UCSF Thoracic Oncology Lung Cancer Program.

  View press release for more information

  Decorative Arts Auction to Benefit Lung Cancer Research at UCSF

  About Vertical Art - The Enduring Beauty Of Antique Canes And Walking Sticks

• Molecular Test Identifies Early-Stage Lung Cancer Patients at High Risk of Death After Surgery

  UCSF Thoracic Oncology Program, UCSF News - Nov 01, 2012

  Building on their earlier work reported in The Lancet, two UCSF thoracic surgeons David M. Jablons, M.D. (left) and Michael Mann, M.D. (middle), and Johannes Kratz, M.D. (right) a former surgical resident in the Thoracic Oncology Lab, showed they could accurately stratify patients even with the earliest stage of lung cancer into groups at low-, intermediate- or high-risk of death based solely on the activity of 14 different genes found in their tumors. The group analyzed lung tumors of patients diagnosed as Stage 1A (T1a node-negative non-small-cell lung cancers (NSCLC)), the earliest stage of the disease. One-quarter (1/4) of these patients will die within 5 years of their operation despite having apparently successful surgery. Current practice guidelines suggests consideration of adjuvant chemotherapy in high-risk stage I tumors, but the guidelines do not aid in the identification of high-risk T1a tumors.

  Read full article at UCSF News

  JAMA paper

• Twenty-Five Department of Surgery Faculty Named to U.S. News Top Doctors List

  U.S. News - Mar 01, 2012

  In its most recent survey, U.S. News in collaboration with Castle Connolly Medical Ltd. listed twenty-five (25) surgeons in the UCSF Department of Surgery, nearly one-third (1/3) of the clinical faculty, on the list of U.S. News "Top Doctors". The list, compiled from the opinion of colleagues, denotes the top 10% of physicians within a region practicing a given specialty. Fifteen of the 25 department surgeons were also named by their peers to the list of America's Top Doctors (ATD), a distinction reserved for the top 1% of physicians in the nation for that specialty. The listings are published online at U.S. News. The group rankings are intended to guide patients in selecting a doctor and physicians in making specialty referrals.

  Full List of UCSF Dept. of Surgery Faculty Designated U.S. News "Top Doctors"

• Mulitgene Assay Better Predictor of Survival than Conventional Staging

  The Lancet - UCSF News Center - Medscape Medical News - Jan 26, 2012

  

  In the two largest clinical studies ever conducted on the molecular genetics of lung cancer, an international team, led by UCSF thoracic surgeons David M. Jablons, M.D. and Michael Mann, M.D., demonstrated that a 14-gene prognostic molecular assay better predicted the likelihood of death in early-stage lung cancer patients versus conventional staging guidelines. Johannes Kratz, M.D., a former surgical resident in the Thoracic Oncology Laboratory, helped spearhead the development of the assay and was lead author of a paper published in The Lancet discussing the results. John Minna, M.D.", Max L. Thomas Distinguished Chair in Molecular Pulmonary Oncology at UT Southwestern lauded the results, stating that the assay was "head and shoulders" above the rest and ready for "prime time" clinical use.

  New Lung Cancer Test Predicts Survival (by Jason Bardi - UCSF News Center)

  Genetic Test for Early Stage Lung Cancer (Video Interview with Johannes Kratz, M.D.)

  David Jablons Audio Interview with The Lancet

  The Lancet Paper

  New Lung Cancer Assay Ready for Prime Time (Medscape Oncology News)

• 2011 Porsche Race Car Classic Held with Theme of Driving Lung Cancer Off the Planet

  UCSF Thoracic Oncology Program - Oct 20, 2011

  On October 16th, the Porsche Race Car Classic was held at at the Quail Lodge in Napa, CA. The event, a collaboration with Porsche AG and Porsche Cars North America, was hosted by the UCSF Thoracic Oncology Program and Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation. Proceeds from the highly successful event benefited the respective hosts. The theme, "Driving Lung Cancer Off the Planet", was underscored in a video produced by the Thoracic Oncology Program in connection with the event. Narrated by David M. Jablons, M.D., FACS, the video likens the passion that went into the development of the Porsche, the quintessential automotive vehicle, with the passion of UCSF scientists at Thoracic Oncology Lab as it seeks to eradicate the world's number one cancer killer, lung cancer.

  
  
  Selected Videos & Photos

  A Passion for Research (Narrated by David M. Jablons, M.D., FACS with visuals from the Thoracic Oncology Lab)

  Porsche Race Car Classic - Quail Lodge - October 16, 2011 (An Ensemble Tour of Stunning Porsche Automobiles)

  Images of Event on Flickr (Courtesy Regan Botsford)

• Thoracic Oncology Lab Acquires State-of-the-Art DNA Sequencer

  UCSF Thoracic Oncology Program - Oct 18, 2011

  Click Image to Enlarge

  The UCSF Thoracic Oncology Laboratory recently acquired the 5500 Series SOLiDTM , a next-generation DNA sequencer manufactured by Life Technologies Inc. This state-of-the-art sequencer offers a level of precision previously unattainable, and empowers lab scientists to more deeply probe the underlying molecular biology of myriad cancers: from primary thoracic tumors such as lung cancer, esophageal cancer, and mesothelioma, to metastatic sarcoma, melanoma, colorectal cancer, and breast cancer that has spread to the lung.Insights gained from this research could lead to more effective treatments, and possibly a cure for these diseases.
  
  The UCSF Thoracic Oncology Program, led by David M. Jablons, M.D., has been at the forefront of groundbreaking laboratory and clinical research, and offers expert and compassionate care through its multidisciplinary team of thoracic specialists. The Thoracic Oncology Program at UCSF would like to acknowledge Gordon and Emily Bankhead and the Kazan, McClain, Abrams, Fernandez, Lyons, Greenwood, Harley & Oberman Foundation for their generous support.

• Dr. David M. Jablons Inducted into American Surgical Society

  UCSF Department of Surgery - Sep 15, 2011

  David M. Jablons, M.D., FACS, Professor and Chief of General Thoracic Surgery and Program Leader of the Thoracic Oncology Program, was recently inducted into into the American Surgical Society. The American Surgical Association was founded in 1880 and describes itself as the nation's oldest and most prestigious surgical organization. Among its members are the nation's most prominent surgeons from leading academic medical institutions, many of whom are Department of Surgery Chairs. Membership also includes leading surgeons from around the world.

  About the American Surgical Society

• Thoracic Oncology Program - The Year in Review

  Thoracic Oncology Program - Aug 04, 2011

  Every July, the Thoracic Oncology Program provides a summary update of its accomplishments during the prior twelve (12) months. The program continues to grow and innovate. General Thoracic Surgery continues to innovate and expand the number of minimally invasive procedures it performs. The program's status as the busiest on the West Coast and the best place to refer complex and challenging cases continues. With a strong multidisciplinary team including UCSF Medical Oncology, Radiation Oncology and Pulmonology, the program continues to offer state-of-the-art care for the region and beyond.

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• Landmark Study Unequivocal that CT Screening Reduces Lung Cancer Deaths

  Los Angeles Times / UCSF Thoracic Oncology Program - Jul 05, 2011

  Researchers reported in the New England Journal of Medicine that screening smokers and former smokers with spiral CT scans reduced lung cancer deaths by 20%, reaffirming earlier findings in the NLST screening trial. David M. Jablons, M.D., Professor and Chief of Thoracic Surgery and Program Leader of the Thoracic Oncology Program noted the study's significance:

  "This is a landmark study and a landmark day for millions of people at risk for lung cancer. This study vindicates numerous pioneering investigators worldwide who have advocated for the utility and benefit of low-dose spiral CT scans for the early detection of lung cancer. The results announced today lay settle the question of using the low-dose spiral CT scan for the at-risk population. CT scans can save lives. It is our hope that third-party payers and insurers will embrace these results which will lead to more screening, a new standard of care and most importantly, saving lives."

  Related Article in LA Times

  Study bolsters evidence that screening reduces lung cancer deaths (UCSF News)

  Volume Growth as Criteria for Malignancy in CT Lung Cancer Screening

• Jog for Jill Event Attracts over 5,000 Attendees

  Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation - Sep 12, 2010

  On Sunday, September 12 2010, the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation hosted the second "Jog For Jill" event in San Francisco at Golden Gate Park in memory of Jillian Costello, a UC Berkeley graduate who succumbed to advanced lung cancer in her early twenties. On Sunday, the park was alive with attendees including friends, family, and members of the community. The benefit raised over $300,000 to fund research and raise awareness of lung cancer.
  
  The UCSF Thoracic Oncology Lab fielded a team, "JabLab 4 Jill", that included Roshni Ray, Aleah Caulin, Vish Nair, and Adam Beltran and raised $750 for the effort. (click photo above to enlarge)

  View "Jog for Jill" Event Page

• Volume Growth as Criteria for Malignancy in CT Lung Cancer Screening

  New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) - Dec 03, 2009

  In a lead editorial accompanying interim results from the NELSON lung cancer screening trial, authors James L. Mulshine, M.D. (left) and David M. Jablons, M.D. (right), discuss, in the December 3rd, 2009 New England Journal of Medicine, the diagnostic utility of volume growth as a tool for determining if lung nodules found on CT screening are malignant.
  
  "The results suggest that the efficiency of the diagnostic workup for lung cancer can be improved by integrating the measurement of volume growth of lung nodules as an indicator of clinically significant lung cancer while limiting the need for additional costly or potentially harmful diagnostic procedures."

  Read Excerpt (Full editorial & companion article available to NEJM subscribers online)

• Opera Star Sings Praises of Targeted Lung Cancer Therapy

  KGO ABC7 Video - Jul 20, 2009

  Last October, opera singer Zheng Cao fell during a performance and had no idea why. Later, it turned out she had advanced lung cancer. Now, as a result of treatment with a new type of targeted therapy, her cancer is retreating. Personalized medicine - that is, customizing the treatment to the patient's tumor -is rapidly gaining ground in the treatment of lung cancer.This has given hope to patients like Zheng Cao that their lung cancer can be successfully treated.

• UCSF Celebrates Award of New Chair to Thierry Jahan, M.D.

  Department of Surgery at UCSF - Jun 01, 2009

  The Bonnie J. and Anthony Addario Endowed Chair in Thoracic Oncology has been created in the Department of Surgery in honor of Thierry Jahan, M.D., an Associate Professor of Medicine at UCSF, who will occupy the Chair as its first recipient. Dr. Jahan is the one of the region's most highly regarded thoracic oncologists and sarcoma specialists, known among patients, their families, and colleagues for his deep sense of empathy and compassion. Dr. Jahan co-founded the multidisciplinary Thoracic Oncology Program with David Jablons M.D.. On July 9, 2009, there was a celebration held at the Kalmonovitz Library at UCSF to honor Dr. Jahan and his appointment to the newly created Chair.

  View photo album from the celebration honoring Dr. Jahan

• 13th World Conference on Lung Cancer

  - May 27, 2009

  Dr. David Jablons, Chief of the Thoracic Section, is co-chairing the 13th World Conference on Lung Cancer, July 31 - August 4, 2009. The meeting will be held at the Moscone West in San Francisco.

  Link to 13th World Conference on Lung Cancer

• Lung Cancer Now Is the Focus of Powerful Genetics Research

  UCSF News - Science Cafe - Feb 05, 2009

  "The lung cancer tissue bank now enables researchers at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center to explore more deeply the role of specific genes in lung cancer, according to David Jablons, MD, chief of thoracic surgery at UCSF and leader of the Thoracic Oncology Program......'There are so many genes that are interrelated that we never suspected had anything to do with one another' Jablons says. "This systems genetics approach to cancer is a whole new frontier.'

  Read Full Article in UCSF Science Cafe

• Putting Drug Development In Patients' Hands

  Wall Street Journal Online - Jul 29, 2008

  "To find answers, Mrs. Addario and her husband, along with David M. Jablons, her surgeon from the University of California, San Francisco, put together a two-day conference last fall of lung cancer researchers from major institutions around the world. She says the group identified a number of problems that hinder progress toward a cure. Among them: Researchers didn't know what others were doing, tissue and blood specimens needed for experiments weren't centrally located or shared, and the findings of experiments weren't integrated to help assess what the key priorities should be. Mrs. Addario started a new organization, the Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute, and hired CollabRx to address some of these issues. The company is helping the institute build a virtual specimen bank where researchers participating in the project can share patient specimens and establish joint standards for collecting future specimens."

  Read Full Article

• Former executive employs skills to fight lung cancer

  San Francisco Chronicle, CA - Dec 30, 2007

  "Bonnie J. Addario is a lung cancer survivor who was motivated to start a foundation dedicated to raising awareness about the disease. 'I was just outraged about the lung cancer statistics, about the fact that 450 people a day die just in the United States,' she said.............David Jablons was one of the four doctors who performed Addario's surgery at UCSF. Because Addario asked so many questions while she was under his care, Jablons asked Addario to become a member of his thoracic advisory board."

  Read Full Article in San Francisco Chronicle

  The Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation

• Lung Cancer Survivors Find Reason for Hope

  UCSF News, CA - Dec 11, 2006

  Before an overflow crowd at the UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center, members of the Thoracic Oncology Program speak about the challenges of lung cancer and the progress that has been made in finding effective treatments and one day a cure.

  Watch Video of Dr. David Jablons' Talk

• UCSF Researchers Fingerprint Lung Tumors, Test New Drug Candidate

  UCSF Today, CA - Jul 27, 2006

  Adding their own contributions to a rapidly advancing field, UCSF researchers - along with colleagues from Incyte Corporation and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center - have described new targets in lung cancer and evaluated a promising new drug candidate that halts growth signals in tumor cells grown in the lab. Their report is featured in the July issue of the scientific journal Cancer Cell.

• Brothers in Arms - Working nights at UCSF to cure mesothelioma, spurred by a widower's grief and hard-raised cash

  San Francisco Chronicle - Aug 14, 2005

  " Dr. David Jablons couldn't save Karen Peterson's life or even extend it. But he could give quality to whatever life she had left. That turned out to be about nine months, long enough for her twin boys to see her waterskiing on Lake Tahoe and boogie-boarding in Oceanside and laughing more than coughing."

  "Jablons, chief cardiothoracic surgeon at UCSF, was the last in a line of specialists Peterson had sought out coast to coast in a 22-month battle against mesothelioma, the asbestos-induced cancer that had stuck like glue in the lining of her lungs. Of all the doctors she had seen, Jablons had been the most realistic and honest about her chances, so he was the one her husband, Jeff Peterson, called a month after she died."

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• Cancer survivor takes fight against disease to the streets

  San Francisco Chronicle - Apr 23, 2004

  "Running a marathon without a third of your right lung might seem impossible, but for Mike Wooldridge it's just another day on the road. Diagnosed with a fist-sized tumor in his right lung a year ago, the Pleasant Hill Web site designer was initially given a 10 to 15 percent chance of surviving. Today he's running 30 miles a week, training to compete in his first marathon......."

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