The oncology community is mourning the loss of Paul E. Goss, MD, PhD, who died on December 19, 2025, at his home in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, from multiple system atrophy—a rare, progressive neurologic disorder with symptoms resembling those of Parkinson’s disease. He was 70 years old.
Born in Klerksdorp, South Africa, on February 17, 1955, Dr. Goss spent his early years in Johannesburg, where he attended Parktown Boys’ High School and later earned his medical degree from the University of Witwatersrand. He then moved to London, where he received a PhD in cancer research from the University of London in 1986.
Paul E. Goss, MD, PhD
While in London, Dr. Goss established a distinguished career in oncology as a clinician-researcher specializing in breast cancer. He later practiced in Toronto, serving as Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto and Director of the Breast Cancer Program at Princess Margaret Hospital (now Cancer Centre). Most recently, Dr. Goss served as Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Co-Director of the Breast Cancer Disease Program at Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, Boston, where he led large practice-changing clinical trials in early-stage breast cancer and breast cancer prevention, and developed an active international trainee exchange program as well as a growing global telemedicine forum. He also served as Director of the Breast Cancer Research Program and the Avon Breast Cancer Center of Excellence at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Dr. Goss was a member of many professional societies, including ASCO, the UK Royal College of Physicians, and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. His work appeared in over 250 publications across leading journals, including the Journal of Clinical Oncology, The Lancet, and The New England Journal of Medicine.
A Champion of Patients With Cancer
Troubled by the barriers to cancer care he witnessed while living in apartheid-era South Africa, and by his experiences traveling to low-resource countries where he saw firsthand the obstacles patients face in accessing treatment, Dr. Goss founded the Global Cancer Institute in 2013, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing global health initiatives and bringing cancer care to underserved communities.
Over his illustrious career in oncology, Dr. Goss treated thousands of patients and designed and led international clinical trials across more than 55 countries. He also devoted his time to mentoring young oncologists and early-career researchers to improve cancer care for vulnerable patient populations and to reduce mortality rates for all patients diagnosed with the disease.
“Dr. Paul Goss was a visionary leader in global cancer care, leading several international clinical trials addressing hormone-responsive breast cancer,” said Marc Hurlbert, PhD,Chief Executive Officer of the Melanoma Research Alliance and former Executive Director of the Avon Foundation Breast Cancer Crusade. “He also collaborated with the top physicians from around the world to develop roadmaps for cancer care in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as in China, India, and Russia.”
Dr. Hurlbert continued, “Dr. Goss was passionate about mentoring the next generation of physicians and researchers. His dedication to his patients and enthusiasm for advancing cancer care worldwide will be sorely missed across the field of oncology.”
Dr. Goss is survived by his wife, Diana Crockett; his children, daughter Caroline Deliakis and her husband, Michael, and son Edward Goss; his mother, Diane Cutler; his brothers, Glenwood Goss and his wife, Johanne, and Donovan Goss and his wife, Kelly; and his sister, Kathleen Perchtold.
