The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) has revealed the 2019 winners of its annual awards. The four distinguished clinicians and scientists will be presented during the ESMO 2019 Congress in Barcelona: Eric Van Cutsem, MD, PhD; Angelo Di Leo, MD, PhD; Cristiana Sessa, MD; and Charles Swanton, FRCP, BSc, PhD.
Eric Van Cutsem, MD, PhD
Angelo Di Leo, MD, PhD
Cristiana Sessa, MD
Charles Swanton, FRCP, BSc, PhD
Dr. Van Cutsem: ESMO Award
This year’s ESMO Award winner is Dr. Van Cutsem, architect and current head of one of the earliest specialist oncology units for gastrointestinal cancers in Europe at the University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium. The ESMO Award
recognizes Dr. Van Cutsem’s role as a pioneer in the field of gastrointestinal oncology and honors the contribution of the unit he created—one of the largest in western Europe today—to promote medical oncology as a specialty within the gastrointestinal oncology community.
Dr. Di Leo: ESMO Lifetime Achievement Award
Dr. Di Leo will be presented with the ESMO Lifetime Achievement Award in tribute to his career dedicated to cancer research and education. Dr. Di Leo pioneered research into the biology of breast tumors and contributed significantly
to the development of personalized treatment approaches for patients with cancer. He also developed the Medical Oncology Department at the Hospital of Prato, Italy, into a national center for integrated cancer care and clinical research.
Dr. Sessa: ESMO Women for Oncology Award
Dr. Sessa, Scientific Clinical Consultant of the Clinical Trial Unit at Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale and Consultant for Gynaecological Cancer at the Oncology Institute of Southern Switzerland in Bellinzona, Switzerland, will receive the ESMO Women for Oncology Award for her contributions to supporting the career development of women in
oncology and for her role in helping organizations to perceive the female oncology workforce as a valuable resource. Dr. Sessa has worked to help the next generation of women climb the professional ladder, be it through direct mentorship or through her many activities aimed at facilitating access to education and development programs for female oncologists.
Dr. Swanton: ESMO Translational Research Award
The ESMO Translational Research award will be given to Dr. Swanton, Royal Society Napier Professor and Chief Clinician at Cancer Research UK. The award honors Dr. Swanton’s achievements in translational research. Among
them, his research group provided conclusive evidence that the way in which tumors evolve over time follows Darwinian principles of natural selection and branched evolution—and that this frequently constitutes an underlying cause of treatment failure. ■
