Francis R. Spitz, MD, FACS, Vice Chief of the Department of Surgery at Cooper University Health Care and Deputy Director of MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper, and Young K. Hong, MD, MPH, surgical oncologist at MD Anderson at Cooper, were recently appointed to the editorial board of the Annals of Surgical Oncology (ASO).
Annals of Surgical Oncology is the official journal of the Society of Surgical Oncology and the leading resource in surgical oncology, promoting both clinical and translational cancer research, with an emphasis on clinical trials.
Dr. Spitz will serve on the Hepatobiliary Section and review and provide editorial opinion on manuscripts submitted for peer review related to tumors of the liver, pancreas, gallbladder, and bile ducts. Dr. Hong will serve on the Translational Research Section. In this role, he will review and provide opinion on manuscripts submitted for peer review related to new scientific discoveries and clinical studies that may result in innovative surgical cancer treatments.
They will also act as ambassadors for ASO in their clinical and academic communities, contribute to the editorial content of the publication through editorials, viewpoints, and other articles, and promote research initiatives at Cooper. Dr. Spitz and Dr. Hong will serve a three-year term on the editorial board.
“I am extremely honored to have been selected for this position,” said Dr. Spitz, whose clinical expertise focuses on pancreatic, liver, bile duct, and stomach cancer, as well as melanoma and other cancers and diseases of the upper gastrointestinal system. “The Annals of Surgical Oncology is the pre-eminent journal in our field, and it is significant that two Cooper hepatobiliary surgeons have been appointed to the board. It speaks to the quality of our program.” Dr. Spitz also serves as the Head of the Division of Surgical Oncology at MD Anderson at Cooper and is a Professor of Surgery at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University.
“I am excited by the opportunity to share and further our knowledge in this medical discipline, and improve patient health as part of the editorial board of one of the leading peer-reviewed journals,” said Dr. Hong, whose expertise focuses on pancreatic, liver, bile duct and other cancers, and diseases of the upper gastrointestinal system. Dr. Hong is the principal investigator of several clinical trials related to the use of novel bio-therapeutic agents know as tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (or TILs), currently being studied at MD Anderson at Cooper for the treatment of metastatic melanoma, cancers of the head and neck, and lung cancer. He also serves as an Assistant Professor of Surgery at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University.