Sidney Farber
Encyclopedia
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, the third oldest of a family of 14 children. He was a graduate of the University of Buffalo in 1923. He took his first year of medical school at the Universities of Heidelberg and Freiburg
University of Freiburg
The University of Freiburg , sometimes referred to in English as the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.The university was founded in 1457 by the Habsburg dynasty as the...
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. He entered Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
as a second-year student and graduated in 1927. He was married to Norma C. Farber (formerly Holzman), a children's author. He was the brother of the noted philosopher and UB professor, Marvin Farber
Marvin Farber
Marvin Farber was an American philosopher. He was born in Buffalo, New York, and died in Minneapolis. Farber was Professor Emeritus at the University at Buffalo, and was Chairman of the Department of Philosophy there from 1937-1961. He founded the journal Philosophy and Phenomenological Research...
(1901-1980).
After graduate training in pathology at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital (the predecessor of Brigham and Women's Hospital
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Brigham and Women's Hospital is the largest hospital of the Longwood Medical and Academic Area in Boston, Massachusetts. It is directly adjacent to Harvard Medical School of which it is the second largest teaching affiliate with 793 beds...
) in Boston, Massachusetts, where he was mentored by Kenneth Blackfan
Kenneth Blackfan
Kenneth Blackfan was an American pediatrician, born on September 9, 1883 in Cambridge, New York, and died November 1941.Blackfan began his medical studies at the Albany Medical School of Union University, New York, graduating at the age of only 22. Initially, he returned home to join his father in...
, Farber was appointed to a resident pathologist post at Children's Hospital
Children's Hospital Boston
Children's Hospital Boston is a 396-licensed bed children's hospital in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area of Boston, Massachusetts.At 300 Longwood Avenue, Children's is adjacent both to its teaching affiliate, Harvard Medical School, and to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute...
. He became an assistant in pathology at Harvard Medical School in 1928. In 1929, he became the first full-time pathologist to be based at Children's Hospital.
While working at Harvard Medical School on a research project funded by a grant from the American Cancer Society
American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society is the "nationwide community-based voluntary health organization" dedicated, in their own words, "to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and...
, he carried out both the preclinical and clinical evaluation of aminopterin
Aminopterin
Aminopterin , a 4-amino analog of folic acid, is an antineoplastic drug with immunosuppressive properties used in chemotherapy. Aminopterin is a synthetic derivative of pterin. Aminopterin works as an enzyme inhibitor by competing for the folate binding site of the enzyme dihydrofolate reductase...
(synthesized in consultation with Farber by Yellapragada Subbarao
Yellapragada Subbarao
Yellapragada Subbarao was an Indian biochemist who discovered the function of Adenosine Triphosphate as a energy source in the cell, and made important contributions to the treatment of cancer. Most of his career was spent in the United States...
), a folate antagonist in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is a form of leukemia, or cancer of the white blood cells characterized by excess lymphoblasts.Malignant, immature white blood cells continuously multiply and are overproduced in the bone marrow. ALL causes damage and death by crowding out normal cells in the bone...
. He showed for the first time that induction of clinical and hematological remission in this disease was achievable. These findings promoted Farber as the "father" of the modern era of chemotherapy for neoplastic disease, having already been recognized for a decade as the "father" of modern pediatric pathology.
Farber began raising funds for cancer research with the Variety Club of New England in 1947. Together they created The Jimmy Fund
The Jimmy Fund
The Jimmy Fund raises vital funds to support adult and pediatric cancer care and research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1948 to raise funds for patient care and the fight against children’s cancer, the Jimmy Fund now supports the search for new cancer...
, which was one of the first nationwide fundraising efforts to take full advantage of modern media, such as a broadcast of the radio show Truth or Consequences
Truth or Consequences
Truth or Consequences is an American quiz show originally hosted on NBC radio by Ralph Edwards and later on television by Edwards , Jack Bailey , Bob Barker , Bob Hilton and Larry Anderson . The television show ran on CBS, NBC and also in syndication...
on 22 May, 1948. The success of the Jimmy Fund led Farber to realize the importance of marketing in the scientific advancement of knowledge about diseases. According to Siddhartha Mukherjee
Siddhartha Mukherjee
Siddhartha Mukherjee is an Indian-born American physician, scientist and writer. He authored the 2010 book, The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer, which won the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction...
, this realization
...set off a seismic transformation in [Farber's] career that would far outstrip his transformation from a pathologist to a leukemia doctor. This second transformation — from a clinician into an advocate for cancer research — reflected the transformation of cancer itself. The emergence of cancer from its basement into the glaring light of publicity would change the trajectory of [the story of cancer research in the 20th century].
The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Dana–Farber Cancer Institute is part of a Comprehensive Cancer Center designated by the National Cancer Institute. It is a major affiliate of Harvard Medical School and is located in the Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts.-Overview:...
is partly named after him. Farber Hall, built in 1953 on the South Campus of the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, also commonly known as the University at Buffalo or UB, is a public research university and a "University Center" in the State University of New York system. The university was founded by Millard Fillmore in 1846. UB has multiple campuses...
is named for him.
See also
- History of cancer chemotherapyHistory of cancer chemotherapyThe era of cancer chemotherapy began in the 1940s with the first use of nitrogen mustards and folic acid antagonist drugs. Cancer drug development has exploded since then into a multi-billion dollar industry...
- Dana-Farber Cancer InstituteDana-Farber Cancer InstituteDana–Farber Cancer Institute is part of a Comprehensive Cancer Center designated by the National Cancer Institute. It is a major affiliate of Harvard Medical School and is located in the Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts.-Overview:...
- Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of CancerEmperor of All Maladies: A Biography of CancerThe Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer is a book written by Siddhartha Mukherjee, an Indian-born American physician and oncologist. Published in 2010 by Scribner, it won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction: the jury said the book was elegantly written...