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In Memorium

In Memorium Franco Muggia orking with Heine was fun. From July 1969 to January CCNU, every 2 week methotrexate, bleomycin, VM-26, and W1972, we worked together at the National Cancer Institute sodium camptothecin, some supplemented by the pharmaco- (NCI), almost on a daily basis except for the initial 3 months that logic input of Patrick Creaven –these studies that recruited I spent in DeVita’s lab at the beginning of my joining the NCI many volunteering patients rolled out almost effortlessly. We Medicine Branch as a Senior Investigator. As our roles in the established many collaborations: with Saul Rosen of the NIH newly created Lung Cancer unit got underway, our friendship Endocrinology Branch, growing the ChaGo cell line that evolved: we often got together with our wives on weekends; we produced HCG; with Vince DeVita on cell kinetics of small were introduced to how Danish holidays were celebrated with cell lung cancer and introducing laparoscopy for their stag- Lise and friends; we engaged weekly in competitive matches at ing; with Arman Tashjian on detecting calcitonin, and last but the tennis courts of Pooks Hill. not least, with Mary Matthews on the complexities of lung Of course, the majority of the time was spent at work, cancer pathology. These achievements became the founda- where we indeed became soul mates. We both engaged in tions for the very successful Medical Oncology Branch led by clinical research, and found this an unbelievably stimulating John Minna in 1975. endeavor. Not only did we devote time to interactions with Heine’s personal qualities and his pioneering small cell patients, but we were handed enormous opportunities to share lung cancer studies would contribute to his many subsequent in new scientific ventures that opened up in from of us at this achievements after leaving the NCI. Locally, he rose to research hub. We worked well with our nursing team and Professor and Chief of the Finsen Institute. As a rising star in other personnel in a newly formed unit, with colleagues at the European organizations, Heine eventually became president VA and NCI, and with our patients. Our intellectual curiosity of ESMO and eventually was to serve the major roles in was focused on using our skills to exploit new clinical oncology accreditation of burgeoning training programs. I findings and to develop collaborations with all the talent was fortunate to be invited to the meeting he hosted in available to us. The working energy of these years were to Copenhagen in the early 90s (to engage on a debate versus stay with us forever: Heine went back to Copenhagen and Charles Coombes on adjuvant 5-Fluorouracil-based therapy rose to become the Professor at the Finsen Institute based on of colon cancer —something Heine and I had discussed on his prolific contributions to define the clinical features and many occasions with our VA surgical colleague George treatment of small cell lung cancer. In fact, his thesis and Higgins, who headed the VA Surgical Adjuvant Group). In collected works published in 1972, upon returning to his 1998, it was a great pleasure to speak at an all day conference native Denmark, reflected the steady base of observations on th at the Finsen Institute in honor of Heine’s 60 birthday, staging procedures, bone marrow involvement (that followed organized by his students and colleagues —including Fred our brief communication in the New England Journal of Hirsch, who later translocated to Denver. Medicine within a few months of have begun our studies), Beyond those fortunate to share times with him at laparoscopic identification of liver metastases, therapeutic International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer concepts like prophylactic brain irradiation and multi-agent (IASLC) activities, the yearly ASCO meetings were occa- chemotherapy, and biological features such as ectopic calci- sions where many of us looked forward in getting together tonin production, among others. On my part, I also became with Heine and Lise. Finally, at the Chemotherapy Founda- smitten with clinical research and emulated Heine in openly tion meetings during the past 2 years, we invited him share reaching out to interact with clinicians and laboratory scien- his wisdom, and also introduce some of his trainees to our tists in a spirit of collaboration. For both of us, that became New York audiences (a city that he and Lise loved from the centerpiece of our careers: building a friendly academic Heine’s year of postgraduate hematology training at Monte- environment in which we could take care of patients while fiore). At the dinner we shared together in November 2010, participating in research and training of young oncologists. we updated news on our families and talked about a whole There was always the excitement of ground breaking range of common interests. This congenial evening will be research around Heine. He could be counted in coming up remembered by us as the last image we had of Heine. We with ideas during conferences, or participating in disputing were totally unaware that illness was later to overtake him, some dogma, including injecting humor. When confronted and he was to embark on his final journey. with existing rigidity of thought, it did not stop him in We say goodbye to our dear friend Heine with this final persevering and going ahead with disputed concepts and eventually gaining an endorsement to proceed. Within 2 thought: dedication, optimism, and friendship in the care of years, we had completed a number of clinical studies and patients is at the root of eventually successful clinical re- generated papers on the following projects: Phase I studies of search in oncology. 1970 Journal of Thoracic Oncology  Volume 6, Number 12, December 2011 http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Thoracic Oncology Wolters Kluwer Health

In Memorium

Muggia, Franco
Journal of Thoracic Oncology , Volume 6 (12) – Dec 1, 2011
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ISSN
1556-0864
DOI
10.1097/JTO.0b013e31823ab18b
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Abstract

Franco Muggia orking with Heine was fun. From July 1969 to January CCNU, every 2 week methotrexate, bleomycin, VM-26, and W1972, we worked together at the National Cancer Institute sodium camptothecin, some supplemented by the pharmaco- (NCI), almost on a daily basis except for the initial 3 months that logic input of Patrick Creaven –these studies that recruited I spent in DeVita’s lab at the beginning of my joining the NCI many volunteering patients rolled out almost effortlessly. We Medicine Branch as a Senior Investigator. As our roles in the established many collaborations: with Saul Rosen of the NIH newly created Lung Cancer unit got underway, our friendship Endocrinology Branch, growing the ChaGo cell line that evolved: we often got together with our wives on weekends; we produced HCG; with Vince DeVita on cell kinetics of small were introduced to how Danish holidays were celebrated with cell lung cancer and introducing laparoscopy for their stag- Lise and friends; we engaged weekly in competitive matches at ing; with Arman Tashjian on detecting calcitonin, and last but the tennis courts of Pooks Hill. not least, with Mary Matthews on the complexities of lung Of course, the majority of the time was spent at work, cancer pathology. These achievements became the founda- where we indeed became soul mates. We both engaged in tions for the very successful Medical Oncology Branch led by clinical research, and found this an unbelievably stimulating John Minna in 1975. endeavor. Not only did we devote time to interactions with Heine’s personal qualities and his pioneering small cell patients, but we were handed enormous opportunities to share lung cancer studies would contribute to his many subsequent in new scientific ventures that opened up in from of us at this achievements after leaving the NCI. Locally, he rose to research hub. We worked well with our nursing team and Professor and Chief of the Finsen Institute. As a rising star in other personnel in a newly formed unit, with colleagues at the European organizations, Heine eventually became president VA and NCI, and with our patients. Our intellectual curiosity of ESMO and eventually was to serve the major roles in was focused on using our skills to exploit new clinical oncology accreditation of burgeoning training programs. I findings and to develop collaborations with all the talent was fortunate to be invited to the meeting he hosted in available to us. The working energy of these years were to Copenhagen in the early 90s (to engage on a debate versus stay with us forever: Heine went back to Copenhagen and Charles Coombes on adjuvant 5-Fluorouracil-based therapy rose to become the Professor at the Finsen Institute based on of colon cancer —something Heine and I had discussed on his prolific contributions to define the clinical features and many occasions with our VA surgical colleague George treatment of small cell lung cancer. In fact, his thesis and Higgins, who headed the VA Surgical Adjuvant Group). In collected works published in 1972, upon returning to his 1998, it was a great pleasure to speak at an all day conference native Denmark, reflected the steady base of observations on th at the Finsen Institute in honor of Heine’s 60 birthday, staging procedures, bone marrow involvement (that followed organized by his students and colleagues —including Fred our brief communication in the New England Journal of Hirsch, who later translocated to Denver. Medicine within a few months of have begun our studies), Beyond those fortunate to share times with him at laparoscopic identification of liver metastases, therapeutic International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer concepts like prophylactic brain irradiation and multi-agent (IASLC) activities, the yearly ASCO meetings were occa- chemotherapy, and biological features such as ectopic calci- sions where many of us looked forward in getting together tonin production, among others. On my part, I also became with Heine and Lise. Finally, at the Chemotherapy Founda- smitten with clinical research and emulated Heine in openly tion meetings during the past 2 years, we invited him share reaching out to interact with clinicians and laboratory scien- his wisdom, and also introduce some of his trainees to our tists in a spirit of collaboration. For both of us, that became New York audiences (a city that he and Lise loved from the centerpiece of our careers: building a friendly academic Heine’s year of postgraduate hematology training at Monte- environment in which we could take care of patients while fiore). At the dinner we shared together in November 2010, participating in research and training of young oncologists. we updated news on our families and talked about a whole There was always the excitement of ground breaking range of common interests. This congenial evening will be research around Heine. He could be counted in coming up remembered by us as the last image we had of Heine. We with ideas during conferences, or participating in disputing were totally unaware that illness was later to overtake him, some dogma, including injecting humor. When confronted and he was to embark on his final journey. with existing rigidity of thought, it did not stop him in We say goodbye to our dear friend Heine with this final persevering and going ahead with disputed concepts and eventually gaining an endorsement to proceed. Within 2 thought: dedication, optimism, and friendship in the care of years, we had completed a number of clinical studies and patients is at the root of eventually successful clinical re- generated papers on the following projects: Phase I studies of search in oncology. 1970 Journal of Thoracic Oncology  Volume 6, Number 12, December 2011

Journal

Journal of Thoracic Oncology – Wolters Kluwer Health

Published: Dec 1, 2011

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